Melissa Negron Ulto has created a unique career, creating award winning video art, immersive, large scale interactive installations, and fine art paintings. She is also a Teaching Artist for JCArts/Arthouse, teaching content production. Professionally, Melissa is the Digital Signage Content Manager for Lincoln Center and its 11 constituent organizations (The Met, NY Philharmonic, Juilliard, Lincoln Center Jazz, Lincoln Center Film, Lincoln Center Theater).
Melissa Negron Ulto has worked with luxury brand clients like Versace, Chanel, Diesel, Rag+Bone, TUMI, and others, designing their digital signage and creating new content. As a consultant, she works with Fortune 500 companies and key industry players in the digital signage field, including BrightSign and Zignage. She has produced several public art projection pieces in Jersey City. and Manhattan during the pandemic. She has been included in several NFT art events and taught a workshop on the topic at NYU. She has done two video installations for Diner En Blanc in Jersey City. Melissa had a experimental gallery space in the Lackawanna Building for a few years, where she has placed a longterm AR installation, along with hosting regular JCAST and other art events. Melissa currently has a residency at Mana Contemporary, focusing on video and interactive art. She is repeatedly hired to do projection mapping for music video clients, as well as various digital signage installations for retail brands.
She has participated in numerous award-winning documentaries as part of her profession. Melissa has worked on films about everything from the Middle East Peace Struggle to Women in Hip-Hop. The film “Mandatory Service”, wherein Melissa served as the cinematographer, won Best Short Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008. Her work may be seen in the highly acclaimed and frequently screened film series All The Ladies Say, which was directed by Ana Rokafella Garcia and debuted in 2008. Editing All The Ladies Say 2 is the team’s current endeavor.
Melissa worked with some of the key players from Blue Man Group, QOTN and STOMP! on workshopping a new project, as the video designer for the video backdrops and live performance video pieces. Melissa Ulto’s video art piece, unMade Movie, became part of the permanent video art archive at the Getty Research Institute in 2017, as part of the Joanie4Jackie collection. The piece was part of 2002’s “Who Stole My Chainletter” edition.
Melissa holds the position of Digital Signage Content Manager at Lincoln Center, managing and creating infoscape content for the entire campus. Melissa is currently involved in projects for brands using AR/VR content in marketing campaigns online and in public spaces. Her role is creative and technical lead, to concept and develop the content, keeping in mind the target demographics and the various devices for content delivery. She also works in education, with Hudson County, on STEM/STEAM programs.
Melissa has a long history with art and activism, and is part of the Guerrilla Girls (as Maya Deren, a performance/activism training group), which included a European tour – live streaming the performances and running workshops for women in Slovenia, Hungary and Greece how to do activist street theater and poster design. She created graphics and on-air art for Occupy Wall Street, was an on-location live streamer, and built a green screen stage, as key member of their streaming team. She continues to lend her support and skills to various movements and non-profits.
Education
The New School – Liberal Arts, 2023 – present
Continuing Education
NYU ITP Camp – 2014 – 2016, 2021 – 2023 – New York University
Continuing education and micro electronics workshops for digital designers, IoT enthusiasts and video artists, using Arduino, Raspberry Pi.
New York University – Liberal Arts, 1997 – 2002
Press & Case Studies
Case Study 1 – BrightSign – Rag + Bone
Case Study 2 – BrightSign – Panther Room
Press 1 – Panther Room/Blue Man Group
Press 2 – Redefining AV Installation
Online Galleries
Honors and Awards
Arts Awards & Collections:
JCAST with WALK BYE 30th Anniversary Event Installation
October 2020, Lincoln Park Fountain, Jersey City, NJ
Joane4Jackie Archive “UnMade Movie” video art – Permanent Collection Induction
2017 – Getty Museum
Official Selection – VJ Miixxy presents Blake Scott in ‘Street Moves’ – video art
Dec 2008, vBrooklyn Video Art Festival
Private Collected Works – “UnMade Movie” Photo Series
2007 to present – Mitchell Cohen
Film Awards:
Documentary: “Mandatory Service”
Role: Director of Photography
Best Short Documentary – Winner
May 2008, Tribeca Film Festival
Documentary: “All The Ladies Say”
Role: Editor/Animator/Writer
Official Selection:
September 2020, Documentary Forum at CCNY, with Third World Newsreel
May 2012, Miami Pro-Am Urban Arts Expo
Mar 2012, Man Up’s Campaign Exhibition “Through Our Lens” at Central Park West Gallery
Feb 2012, Is Hip Hop History Conference at CUNY CWE
Dec 2011, Man Up Campaign at Maysles Cinema
Oct 2011, Northeastern University Hip-Hop Festival
Jul 2011, B-Girl BBQ – Alice Arts Fundraiser, Oakland CA
Jun 2011, East Harlem International Puerto Rican Film Festival at Museum of City of New York
Jan 2011, Dance on Camera Film Festival at Lincoln Center – Official World Premiere
2010, B Supreme Women’s Hip Hop Festival, London, UK
2010, Manchester’s Contact Theater, UK
2010, University of Wisconsin – Breaking The Law Festival
Jun 2009, Bronx Museum
Documentary: The Art of Love & Struggle
Role: Editor/Animator/Writer
Official Selection:
2008, Pan African Arts & Film Festival
2007, Hip Hop Odyssey Film Festival
Documentary: The Mighty Humble Blueberry
Role: Editor/Animator/Writer
Awards:
Best Home Grown Short – Winner
2007, Garden State Film Festival
Codes Pro Media ReelHeart Award – Winner
2007, ReelHeart International Film Festival
Official Selection:
2007, Gloria Film Festival
2007, NJ International Film Festival
2007, Independents Film Festival, Tampa Bay, FLA
Webisode Journalism/Filmmaking
Roles: Director of Photographer, Director, Editor, Writer, Animator, Livestreaming Technical Director, Researcher, Producer
Nominated/Awards:
2011, Nominated – Video Blogger – Shorty Awards
Official Selection & VJ Performance
2007, Olhares Pocket Film Festival, Lisbon, Portugal
Residencies
Mana Contemporary – Video Technologies Residency
Video Technologies/Art & Immersive Installations
2025 – Jersey City
Melissa is currently involved in exploring video technologies, as related to immersive installation and projection mapping, at Mana Contemporary.
Spirit NYC – VJ Miixxy Residency
Resident VJ, Event Documentarian & Content Creator
2003 – 2006 – New York City
Melissa performed as VJ Miixxy from the opening night event (NYE with Dirty Vegas) to Spirit’s closing in 2006. She also documented key concerts and events, on video and in photos, and regularly did content shoots with the dancers and performers.
VJ Miixxy is the performance name of Melissa Negron Ulto, a New York-based video jockey (VJ), filmmaker, and visual artist known for creating and manipulating imagery in live performance settings at clubs, concerts, and even on Broadway. Her work combines abstract and representational elements, often focusing on depth, shapes, and optical illusions, and she has been featured in the documentary “Video Out” and “The VJ Book”.
Specialties: immersive/interactive experience design, video design/installation, digital signage technologies – dev/code/install/maintain, live streaming installations, digital broadcasting, filmmaking, AR/VR, brand & identity marketing, 3D and digital art techniques, video editing and animation techniques, installation prototyping/layouts, fine art techniques
Experience
JCAST 2025 – Gallery Show & Technical Producer
October 2025 – Jersey City – City-wide
Melissa was the Technical Producer for all video content shown in “The Art of Convergence” show, as well as featuring one of her video art pieces in the installation.
Prom Queer – Lincoln Center
September 2025 – New York City – Live Performance
Melissa performed as a VJ, mixing custom video art live for the Prom Queer event, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community.
Open House – Museum Show
May 2025 – Jersey City – Mana Contemporary
Melissa created an immersive installation with user participation elements, using projection mapping, video art, paintings and “creation stations”. Melissa also assisted other multimedia artists with their projection based Raspberry Pi run installations.
JCAST 2024 – Gallery Show
October 2023 – Jersey City
Melissa participated with a multimedia installation including projection mapping and fine art.
PROJECT 270 – Mana Contemporary – Public Art
Summer/Fall 2024 – DNC in Chicago, and various cities across the country
Melissa worked with the curators at Mana Contemporary to create an LED truck presentation for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as well as other key election season events in NYC, Jersey City, Miami and LA. She also created public art video for kiosks/digital signage in transportation systems and public spaces in Atlanta, Akron, Durham and other cities across the midwest.
JCAST 2023 – Gallery Show
October 2023 – Jersey City – Brand Experience Lab
Melissa participated as a gallery space for her show, “Cold, Smooth & Tasty”, as well as having curator Atim Oton present “Afropunk: Afrofuturism – A Digital Exhibition”.
NJCU Latinx Art Show – Gallery Show
September 13 – November 18 2023 – Jersey City – NJCU Visual Arts Building Gallery
Artistas de Latinoamérica Sueños y Posibilidades/
Latin American Artists: Dreams and Possibilities
Melissa has two pieces in the show, representing Puerto Rico’s independence movement history – Lolita Lebron and Ramón Emeterio Betances.
Diner En Blanc – Public Art
Summer 2022/2023 – Jersey City – ART HOUSE
Public Art Projection Mapping – for ticketed international arts event. Projection mapping on public monuments for display during the events.
Salsa Stories – AR ART
Summer 2022/2023 – NYC – Bianka Cypriano
AR Art installation for each Salsa Stories event in Manhattan and the Bronx. Using Membit as the AR platform, Melissa created layered AR pieces from archival photos and other illustrative elements.
Women In Graffiti Installation – Lincoln Center – Curator
August 2023 – NYC
Melissa curated a selection of women graffiti artists to show their work, as a collection, on the 50 foot LED wall at David Geffen Hall for the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop month. Works were selected from Toofly, Shiro1, Kay Love, and Miss CHELOVE. Digital video presentation for a week during major Hip-Hop events on campus.
All Eyes On Us Show – Gallery Show
August 2023 – Jersey City – Brand Experience Lab
Melissa participated in a group show hosted by Move The Needle, curated by @or1el. The show included salon discussions moderated by @or1el and @123dudapenteado – with artists joining in to describe their creative approach and vision.
Sazon 2023 – Public Art
June 2023 – East Rutherford – American Dream
Melissa curated and participated in a group show hosted by Move The Needle and Sazon, at the Dream Live venue, in the American Dream Mall. The event included her NFT pieces, fine art pieces, AR art and installation called Sala De Brillo. The installation was an entire room filled with mirror mylar balloons, also hanging from the ceiling, with a large chrome leather couch, and blue lighting.
Crossing The Field: Artists Breaking Boundaries – Gallery Show
November 2022 – Jersey City – Beacon’s Murdoch Hall
Melissa participated in a group show curated by Atim Annette Oton. The event included several of her fine art pieces.
JCAST 2022
October 2022 – Jersey City – Brand Experience Lab
Melissa curated and participated in a group show hosted by Move The Needle, at Brand Experience Lab. The event included her NFT pieces, fine art pieces, and an AR art installation.
Sazon 2022 – Public Art
June 2022 – Jersey City – Brand Experience Lab
Melissa curated and participated in a group show hosted by Move The Needle and Sazon, at Brand Experience Lab. The event included her NFT pieces, fine art pieces, and an AR art installation. She was also on a panel about women in Web3.
Teaching Artist
Fall 2021/Winter & Spring 2022 – Jersey City – JC ARTS/ART HOUSE
Melissa Ulto teaches students how to produce online video and multimedia content, based around themes of social justice. She works with JCARTS/ARTHOUSE in their educational efforts.
Ars Electronica’s Electronic Arts Festival
Fall 2021 – projection mapping installation & showing NFTs – NYC
Melissa Ulto participated in part of the collective XR Ensemble, co-creating installations that utilize addressable LEDs, projection mapping, video art and NFTs.
We Are Everywhere – Public Art
Fall 2021 – Jersey City Public Art installation
Melissa Ulto participated in a show focusing on LGBTQ+ artists, where each part of the flag was represented by a color. Melissa was pink, for sexuality, and intersected with her bisexuality and the bi flag colors.
LIBRE ENFIN – Gallery Show
July 2021 – France/Guadeloupe/Virtual
Melissa Ulto participated in a show curated by NFT ART exhibition by Alain Afflelou Guadeloupe. Her work can be seen here. The show included a Digital: Fair in a 3D hall, Personal exhibitions, NFTs, Smartify, Conversations (Live FB + Face-to-face), presented by Pool Art Fair.
PRIDE IN THE PARK – Public Art
June 2021 – Jersey City
Melissa Ulto, as part of the West Side Merry Makers, helped organize the first Pride in the Park event in Lincoln Park. Her involvement included the design of the event’s step and repeat, and running an interactive, touch-less photo booth. This Pride event was historic and groundbreaking, for being the first official Pride event ever in Lincoln Park, including raising the Pride flag.
ITP Camp 2021 – Gallery Show & Workshops
June 2021 – New York/Virtual
Melissa Ulto participated in the 2021 edition of NYU’s ITP Camp, and taught a session on NFTs. Previous years included teaching sessions on live video performance, live video shading/coding, and projection mapping. This year’s physical art pieces included the use of microelectronics to create Lumia sculptures in three dimensional objects. Melissa’s pieces utilized a 10″ deep shadow box, a wooden castle, Raspberry Pis and sound reactive LEDs.
ONE: Walk_Bye and OpenRoad Poetry’s 1st Anniversary, An Art and Poetic Showcase – Public Art
June 2021 – New York/Virtual
Melissa Ulto was selected as one of the artists for a virtual gallery exhibit for the first anniversary of the Walk_Bye show. Her digital art piece – Bi Pride: Flower Power Series – was included in the VR gallery here.
Easter Bonnet Parade – Public Art
April 3, 2021 – Jersey City, NJ
Melissa Ulto participated in a group performance art event, with the Westside Merry Makers. The event involved costume and hat design and construction, and wig styling. The event was very successful and reported here.
Halloween Installation – Public Art
October 31, 2020 – Jersey City, NJ
Melissa Ulto created a site specific installation for a private building in Jersey City, to create a socially distanced installation for children. The content was Halloween themed and mixed live, to allow for interactive play with the projections. The installation was supported by the neighborhood and building, with a donation of equipment rental by Melissa Ulto.
JCAST 30th Anniversary Festival – Public Art
October 2020 – Jersey City, NJ
Melissa Ulto created a site specific installation that allowed art festival attendees to experience video art while socially distancing. Her work was projected on 360º of the fountain, with a high lumens, projection mapped presentation. She mixed the content live, to a custom DJ mix she created herself. The installation was well received and written up about in the press. Installation supported by city, JCAST, WALK BYE, with donation of equipment rental by Melissa Ulto.
FIGMENT Festival – Public Art
June 2020 – New York, NY
As part of the FIGMENT Festival, Melissa mixed video art live, to a DJ, for the Covid-friendly digital edition in 2020. Her presentation, as VJ Miixxy, was viewed on all the FIGMENT social channels live and as part of their archive.
Louche Exotic: A Singapore Bateaux-Mouche Extravaganza – Immersive Installation
November 2019 – Jersey City, NJ/Nyack, NY
On a renovated canal barge, turn-of-the-century Singapore style meets urban chic. A perfect, intimate setting for an invite-only performance, on a limited one-month run, with maximum capacity per performance of 20 people. The entire interior will be covered in video surfaces, allowing for the morphing of time and space, while sitting still. The exclusivity of the immersive theater event will drive its viral exposure, as key arts world influencers & local arts bloggers will be invited for previews. The invite-only event will create a desire to be one of the few guests included in an unforgettable evening. Currently being workshopped.
The Panther Room – Immersive Installation
2016 – 2017 – New York City
Video artist and designer for immersive theater production by Blue Man Group/STOMP/QOTN producing staff. Worked on development of various technologies to sustain a month long run event. Created five immersive video backdrops, as well as projection mapped on dancers and performers live. Installation gained industry and art world interest. Digital signage vendor created a white paper about the cutting edge nature of the installation.
FIGMENT Festival – Immersive Installation & Public Art
2013 – 2020 – Governor’s Island & Virtual
Melissa created several immersive installations, with projection mapping and interactive elements. In 2013, the installation she made with
Guillaume Lauzier and Mark Alan Johnson, “Draw & Play”, was particularly popular with families, allowing users to mix audio and video art live.
Guerrilla Girls On Tour – European Tour – Technical Director & Art Activist
Fall 2010 – Ljublana, Slovenia; Budapest, Hungary; Athens, Greece
Melissa performed as Maya Deren for Guerrilla Girls On Tour, in street theater activism events. She was the live streaming technical director and an instructor in the poster making and street theater workshops.
Family Day – Museum of Modern Art – Immersive Installation
2003 – 2007 – New York City
Performing live visuals as a VJ for the Family Day event series, as a reoccurring artist.
Love Art War Show – Emerging Arts – Gallery Show
February 2003 – New York City
Melissa’s work in this gallery show featured assemblage pieces and small intense oil paintings on the theme of love, art and war.
Women I Have Known – August Art – Video & Fine Art Installation
2002 – New York City
Melissa created a site specific installation using video art, digital photography and fine art pieces, as well as interactive elements based on sensors.
Warm Up Summer Series – MoMA P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center – Video Art Installation
2002 – New York City
Melissa created a site specific video art installation at MoMA PS1 (formerlyP.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center) for the Warm Up Summer Series events.
