Sophie Docalavich

Sophie Docalavich is a junior Studio Art major at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. Her work explores the relationship between nature, place, and society, often focusing on the ways living systems adapt and persist within environments shaped by human presence. Working across drawing, painting, and mixed media, she is particularly interested in observation, symbolism, and the emotional connections between ecological and constructed spaces.

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In the summer of 2025, Sophie studied abroad in Venice, Italy through the Boston University Summer Study Abroad Program on scholarship. Her time in Venice strongly influenced her developing body of work, inspiring a series of paintings examining coexistence between urban environments, tourism, wildlife, and the natural world.

Prior to attending college, Sophie was homeschooled and spent many years volunteering at the Stanley Arts Center in Hampton, South Carolina, where she assisted with arts programming and the curation and installation of exhibitions. She is currently spending her summer teaching visual art at a community-based summer arts program and completing an internship in fine art conservation under the instruction of Dimitri Nedelcu at Universal Fine Art Conservation in Estill, South Carolina.

Sophie is particularly interested in international artist residencies that encourage cultural exchange and deep engagement with place. She was recently selected for a Fall 2026 residency at Château de Cerisay in western France through Atelier Artist in Residence. This opportunity reflects her ongoing interest in how communities preserve history, identity, and tradition through their relationship to the land and built environment. Drawing from her experiences in rural Southern communities and international travel, she approaches new places through careful observation, research, and a curiosity about the ways people and place shape one another.