This is an online event. Facebook event link for virtual artist talk: https://fb.me/e/2B2tI6QNU During the pandemic I watched Francisco Alvarado experiment, play with, be challenged by the digital world of art. Characters popped up in his work based on himself and others. He was telling the story of life on lockdown, his heritage, our ever changing and dangerous world and how he deals with all of this. Using various 3D programs he created models who emulate ourselves but are always searching for a better world. The virtual one? These characters cope, adjust, survive. Francisco escaped the physical world of painting to tell a deeper story of resilience and perseverence. The story is always growing and changing, but so does life. I immediately saw a connection with my own work in the virtual world of Second Life. I created my character Gracie Kendal at a time when I was suffocating in life, struggling to thrive and just plain lost. Gracie helped me survive, experiment, play, love. She told my story of my eating disorder and helped me understand it. I used Gracie to cope with life and grow. This is an online two-person exhibition between Francisco and I where we tell the stories of how we survive through/with/by/because of our art.