Ms. Vicinanza is the inaugural Poet Laureate for Southbury, Connecticut, appointed in October of 2022. She has served as a Master Teaching Artist in Poetry for the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, as editor for several literary magazines, and as the founder and executive director of the Connecticut Poetry Festival (1997, 2001, 2003). Ms. Vicinanza is the author of four collections of poetry, is currently working on several new collections, and a memoir. A member of two national slam poetry teams, Ms. Vicinanza competed in National Slam Championships in 1994 and 1996. She was a member of the U.S. Slam Team that competed in Sweden in 1997, as well as the executive director of the 1997 National Poetry Slam Championships held in Middletown, Connecticut, the largest poetry event in the state’s history. Ms. Vicinanza has been featured in venues from Stockholm, Sweden to San Francisco, has been a poet laureate nominee for the state of Connecticut as well as the recipient of the 2003 Connecticut Commission on the Arts Advocates for the Arts Award. When she isn’t writing, she leads poetry and publishing workshops, works full-time as a cyber security professional for an international bank, paints and leads the occasional dot-painting workshops at galleries around the state, owns Vicinanza Studios and Gallery, and, oh yea, she dances.

Some people express themselves and their view of the world best through words. For me, it’s art. I HAVE to create. It’s not even an option for me. I am a self-taught artist who has been drawing since I was a child. Today the medium I choose will be determined by the idea or feeling I want to express. I grow as an artist by trying new techniques and creating a variety of works. I want to share my passion of the world around me with others through my art. Sometimes I let the medium flow and take me along on the search for meaning within the movement or texture. With my pen and watercolor artwork, it’s all about trying to convey a story or engage the viewer in an emotional response, perhaps a memory. I will often call myself a mixed-media artist mainly because cat fur will be found in almost all of my works thanks to my studio mates Murray and Stanley. Ultimately, I hope you are moved by or find joy in my art. Viktoria has had successful solo shows in local businesses as well as being an invited artist at Connecticut fundraising events. She has had her artworks juried into several art shows including The Mixmaster Exhibition at The Mattatuck Museum, the New England Watercolor Society and several Connecticut art associations. Viktoria has also had works displayed in Studio Hill Gallery in Woodbury, CT, Washington Art Association Gallery in Washington Depot, CT, Five Points Gallery in Torrington, CT; and the Vicinanza Studios & Gallery in Southbury, CT. You can find her art and commissioned pieces in several private collections throughout the country.

A certified Google Data Analyst with 10 years of experience in the Financial Markets who studied at the University of Hartford majoring in Economics and Finance. 3 years of consulting experience at an educational networking company hosting digital workshops and events to over 1,000+ individuals monthly and hundreds of individuals with in-person mentorship. Over $24 million dollars in the sale of precious metals and commodities such as Aluminum and Stainless Steel.