About Me

Ariel Velez is a Queer, Boricua, Vegan artist, born and raised in the Lower East Side of New York City. Thier art's viewpoint stems from being prideful in thier roots and overcoming challanges they expierienced during their upbringing. Growing up, they used art as a form of release, self expression and sense of belonging.

Ariel had grown up feeling like an outcast for the longest time and art had always helped them embrace themselves. At first grade, Ariel was having a hard time learning to do basic math and english and ended up gettin geld back. Eventually they they were diagnosed with several learning disabilities and was put into special education. Although they were recieiving better quality education, socially they suffered. At home, they witnessed their family go through hardships and school they felt like they did not fit in and dealt with feeling outcasted. By the time they were a freshman in High School Ariel saught out a therapist and was diagnosed with depression. At the same time, they came out as gay to their parents. 

What helped them get through these tough years has been art. Ariel's artistic identity started young which carried through adulthood. Ariel found that Art helped them communicate to the world what they were struggling with and could not express to others. In High School, they started writing raw emotional poems, created paintings, and sculptures that would portray their feelings of alienation, frustration with thier circumstances as well as hope and curiousty for the world. 

Ariel they wanted to help make a change and Ariel chose to focused thier attention on community work and local politics. During their Undergrad Ariel achieved a Liberal Arts Degree from Borough Manhatten Community College and then they went on to persue a double major in Sociology and Polcitical Science degree with a minor in Legal Studies from City College. In 2021, Ariel was a field Director in Council Member Christopher Marte's campaign and they played a pivitol role and getting him elected. That same year Ariel was inspired to create a community art exhibition for Black, Idigenous and Latine artists, called Liberating Our Souls, with the mission to highlight artwork that deconstructed colonization. The event was successful with over 25 artists partipating. Soon after in 2022, they became a public servant Council Member Christopher Martes race as a Field Director helping manage thousands of constituent. It was also this year they picked up rollerskating which merged all of Ariel's worlds. 

Today, Ariel is now known as one of NYC's finest Roller Skaters and upcoming artists from the Lower East Side. They go by SpicyVeganSk8s on social media. Being persistent on the 8’s has led Ariel to rollerskating at skate jams internationally, appearing in music videos, commercials, and co-founding an Afro-Latina and Queer led crew called Liberty Girls NYC. Within the past two years, Ariel has dedicated their time to also their art. They have performed at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and have founded an open mic called Claiming Space and hosted several open mics. In 2026, nine of her art pieces from her Taino series were exhibited at the Center for Wellbeing, part of the community art exhibition Our Hood: Our Stories and Cultural Survival in the Lower East Side. Today, they continue to expand their vision and have plans to curate their own art show in the near future and expand their rollerskating .