Michelle Angela Ortiz Amplifies Community Voices

In my art, I am most interested in communicating compelling stories that are often ignored. I strive in both my studio and public art works to create a platform where I can amplify the voices of the community to create awareness and spark a connection and inspire action in the viewer. For example, that connection can help someone look past the statistics of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and really take a moment to hear and empathize with the story of a mother, father, or child through my art.

Michelle Angela Ortiz: Racism is . . .

MICHELLE ANGELA ORTIZ‘S community mural in Philadelphia, Aqui y Alla

At this moment, the face of racism can be easily tied to Donald Trump and his followers. But racism in the United States is much more than media clips spewing hate, racism in this country is systemic.

In my city alone over 20 schools were shut down in predominately communities of color. Currently, schools and public health centers have been shut down in the colonized Puerto Rico increasing the poverty rate on the island to 45% leaving the island crippled in the hands of vulture funds. In the United States, millions of undocumented immigrants are criminalized and are led into the deportation system feeding money into the prison industrial complex. Communities of color are misrepresented in the media and are unjustly and harshly tried in the court systems. Our traditions and culture are constantly being appropriated, claimed, and used to market for financial gain.

When communities of color are not able to access affordable and high quality education, healthcare, housing, employment, it is clear that racism is intentionally embedded through our social and economic system in this country.

Michelle Angela Ortiz: Artists’ Perspectives

MICHELLE ANGELA ORTIZ  shares why she wants to be a part of Race and Revolution, a public art show. (Shown here guiding an artist who is creating a community mural)

I decided to participate in the show because I feel that it is necessary to create spaces to present work and inspire dialogue about injustices in this country. The diverse perspectives and interpretations of each artist in the show gives depth to what we experience and how we decide to represent it through our work.

Michelle Angela Ortiz – Community Artist

MICHELLE ANGELA ORTIZ is a visual artist/ skilled muralist/ community arts educator who uses her art as a vehicle to represent people and communities whose histories are often lost or co-opted. Through painting, printmaking, and community arts practices, she creates a safe space for dialogue around some of the most profound issues communities and individuals may face. Her work tells stories using richly crafted and emotive imagery to claim and transform “blighted” spaces into a visual affirmation that reveals the strength and spirit of the community.

For over fifteen years, Ortiz continues to be an active educator in using the arts as a tool for communication to bridge communities. As a highly skilled muralist, Ortiz has designed and created over 50 large-scale public works nationally (PA, NJ, MS, NY) and internationally. Since 2008, Ortiz has led community building and art for social change public art projects both independently in Costa Rica and Ecuador and  through the United States Embassy as a Cultural Envoy in Fiji, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Venezuela, Honduras, and Cuba.

Ortiz is a fellow of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture Fund for the Arts (2011), recipient of the Leeway Foundation Transformation Award (2008) and Art & Change Grant (2012 & 2006.) She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from Moore College of Art & Design and a Master’s Degree in Science of Arts and Cultural Management from Rosemont College.

Jorge Alberto Perez: The Artist’s Voice

I asked JORGE ALBERTO PEREZ what, if any, responsibility an artist has to reflect the society in which he lives:

  Artists tend to be among the first to speak about injustices in any society, and though not all do, it is a form of expression that must be protected. 

Jorge Alberto Perez: The Race Dichotomy

 

 In my work I try to highlight some of the subtle and ubiquitous acts of racism that we see every day in media and pop culture that we hardly notice, that end up reinforcing notions of a superior/inferior race dichotomy. 

Jorge Alberto Perez: The Legacy of Racism

The current state of race relations in the US has a lot to do with the legacy of cultural abuse, violence and marginalization. Add to this a national history that has been heavily revised to exclude the contributions made by minorities, and we have the combustible situation we see today.

Jorge Alberto Perez: The Artist as Perennial Learner

One of the unexpected advantages about creating RACE AND REVOLUTION is learning more about the contributing artists. JORGE ALBERTO PEREZ shares with us the influence his father has had on his work:

I grew up in Atlanta in the 70s where my father worked for the Urban League, one of the earliest organizations in the US that advocated specifically for an end to racial segregation and discrimination. As an artist I include subtle references to race in much of my work as an homage to my father who taught me from an early age to have empathy and love for all people regardless of color or religion. Naturally, participating in the exhibition Race and Revolution is an opportunity to learn about the contributions Native and African Americans made during the Revolutionary War and to expand how I express my beliefs visually.

Jorge Alberto Perez: The Artist’s Process

JORGE ALBERTO PEREZ is an incredibly accomplished photographer, curator, and writer. I am so excited to have him do an installation piece for RACE AND REVOLUTION this summer on Governors Island. Throughout the week learn more about who he is and why he thinks it’s important to continue exploring the roots of racism in the United States.

Jorge Alberto Perez is an artist, curator and contributing writer for LensCulture and ARC Magazine where he is also on the Board of Advisors. In 2014 his photographic work was featured in Ventana Latina magazine(UK). Last year Perez was selected as curator-in-residence at Baxter St./CCNY with the exhibit The Three Traumas as well as adjunct curator for the International Center of Photography’s new gallery space at Mana Contemporary with the exhibit The Future is Forever. This year his work was featured on Captured52.com as number 46 of 52 emerging international artists.

Talwst: an Artist’s Truth

In this final feature post of the artist TALWST he shares what he thinks an artist has a responsibility to create with his or her work. (This piece is titled The Rape.)

“I believe an artist should communicate their truth. Not all art needs to be political it just  needs to be an honest expression of the person making it.”