Artist, Activist, and Educator Frank Juárez explores the impact of Latino/a/x artists and organizations on creativity and connections in a growing number of communities throughout the state.
Last fall, I attended an opening reception for Chicano Power at the Milwaukee Artist Resource Network (MARN) in the Historic Third Ward in Milwaukee. At many exhibitions I attend, I stroll through the gallery, snap a few photos, reconnect with old friends, and then head to my next destination. This time was different. I was in a space that embraced inclusivity, accessibility, and opportunity. I happened to arrive a few minutes into a gallery talk by MARN’s President and CEO Mal Montoya. He explained the show’s focus, the work of his father, José Montoya, a famed Chicano activist, professor, and artist, and what it meant to be Chicano. Learning the history and intention of an exhibition such as this was important, but what caught my attention was something else, something even more profound. Toward the end of the discussion, Montoya asked the featured artists: “Is this your first time exhibiting your work? Is this your first visit to an art gallery?” Shockingly, about two-thirds of the artists raised their hands. What I saw that evening was emotional and concerning. But also, for the first time, I felt like I belonged.
As a Mexican American teenager growing up on the south side of Milwaukee, I never had a place where I felt I belonged. Like many teenagers, I lived life from one experience to the next. Perhaps, as an introvert, my cautious nature was an added barrier that prevented me from connecting with others or from finding a community with common interests. After graduating from Bay View High School in 1993, I attended Carroll College (now Carroll University) just outside of Milwaukee. I remember being recruited as a freshman to join the Latin American Student Organization. Even then, I never felt like I belonged.
As I got older, my mindset began to change both personally and professionally. The root of this shift started inside the art room as a high school art educator. I have always strived to make art engaging for my students, showing them that creativity, originality, and self-expression are important for personal and artistic growth. Through my love for contemporary art, I introduced my students to varied processes, artistic explorations, and studio practices from local, regional, national, and international artists.
However, the more I thought about it, the more I began to realize that the content I was sharing was what I thought they would be interested in—not what they might like to learn, experience, and explore as young artists. I overlooked the bigger picture: creating a community where they felt supported, heard, and had a sense of belonging. I began to understand that I have the resources to create opportunities that can affect their lives and, hopefully, make a difference in how they see the world once they graduate from high school. In this way, I was able to give them what I had needed all those years ago. It was, and still is, a gratifying experience for us all.
Whether working in the art room or participating in an arts organization, we artists and art educators think about our audience and the type of programming that will engage, educate, and empower them, always with the hope that the people we serve will develop a sense of belonging and a meaningful connection. Observing these experiences in our communities and in those we teach and mentor can truly have an impact on us, reinforcing our efforts as teachers to create authentic experiences that build empathy, understanding, and community.
Inspired by my own experiences, I reached out to Latino/a/x directors, founders, and artists whose personal stories and mission-driven philosophies have shaped the work they do today to serve their Wisconsin communities. Their stories follow.
Cultural Connections in Milwaukee and Beyond
For Jacobo Lovo, Managing Artistic Director of Latino Arts, Inc., centered in Milwaukee, a sense of both gratitude and personal responsibility lies at the heart of his work. With a unique focus on programming that promotes integrity, cultural practice, and accessibility, Lovo and his staff design exhibitions that introduce and celebrate the history and voices of Latino/a/x artists. These exhibitions are accompanied by a variety of cultural experiences that deepen community engagement and connections. For example, in addition to workshops led by teaching artists, artist talks, and musical performances, Latino Arts, Inc. creates authentic culinary experiences, such as cooking workshops with Milwaukee’s Mazorca Tacos Food Truck.
Latino Arts’ programming also integrates experiences from outside of Wisconsin, bringing regional, national, and international flavors to Milwaukee. Programming such as Mono Blanco from Veracruz, Mexico, presented Son Jarocho, a traditional Mexican folk music style, in all its authenticity, and shared with the local community the historic and cultural relevance of this beloved musical genre. Also, in the “Mama Said” exhibit, Latina artists from as far away as Brazil were featured alongside artists from California, Illinois, St. Louis, and Milwaukee. In selecting future programming, Lovo relies on audience feedback via surveys after a performance or event, as well as conversations with community members.
An Artist’s Full Circle
Executive Director Xela Garcia, of Walker’s Point Center for the Arts (WPCA) in Milwaukee, recollects growing up in Walker’s Point and visiting WPCA as a child. Through its programming, she was introduced to various resources that let her experience her community and explore her identity. As a student at Allen-Field Elementary, she was selected to participate in the Milwaukee Ballet’s Cornerstone Community Engagement Program, “Relevé,” which provided her with ballet training from 3rd through 5th grade. Garcia was then offered a scholarship to continue with ballet training through her middle-school years.
She also took advantage of her school’s arts and music education programs, belonged to the after-school art club, and received formal training in piano through her elementary school years (complete with year-end recitals). She later graduated from UW—Madison with a degree in English Literature and a minor in Chicanx/
Latinx history.
“The ability to draw from such life experiences helped me build confidence as an adult,” says Garcia.
But after returning to Milwaukee, she felt disconnected from her community and sought to explore pressing issues, leadership, and the pathways she could connect to. She stumbled upon a program that has now lapsed but that was an important bridge for her. The Latino Nonprofit Leadership Program, led by Dr. Jeanette Mitchell and Dr. Enrique Figueroa, provided her with a sense of community and a platform for action. That program solidified her interest in the nonprofit sector and guided her to a community-centric career path that merged youth development, the arts, and leadership development.
Garcia’s leadership today at WPCA helps to uplift and amplify the voices of the underrepresented. Its bilingual staff and diverse offerings, such as cultural events, exhibitions, workshops, and educational programming, contribute to the identity and conversations of the community they serve. WPCA has developed three flagship exhibitions that highlight artistic voices and talent: the Youth Art Show, Community Artists Annual Membership Show, and Culture Bearers through the Día de Los Muertos exhibition.
In addition, it offers a free after-school art program for youth and artist development opportunities, such as art residencies and workshops in connection with community partnerships. As a result, WPCA is recognized by the community as a safe and healing space, especially important during the pandemic.
“Organizations need to be nimble and welcome change.” “How do we devote resources?” “How do we innovate?”, says Garcia.
Programming in a Pandemic
As the weight of the pandemic hung heavy over our lives, we navigated through the unknown with no end in sight. Programming—a complex process that involves vision, funding, months, and even years of planning and designing—became challenging as the physical spaces where we gathered were soon replaced by virtual meetings, events, and workshops.
For Oscar Mireles, Founder and Executive Director of the Madison-based Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development (LOUD), the pandemic presented both challenges and opportunities. Harnessing his half-century of community building and leadership experiences, Mireles focused on building collaborations with others from the Madison community to spotlight the Latino arts and to develop Latino artists.
Through partnerships with non-Latino organizations, such as the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Overture Center for the Arts, LOUD has helped curate cultural events, gallery exhibitions, musical performances, lectures, and more. His art is bringing people together around the kitchen table to have conversations on how their collaborative efforts can put a spotlight on the amazing talent that exists within their communities.
Indigenous Traditions and Culture Find a New Home
Gabriela Marván is the founder and director of Mexican Folk Art Collective, a consortium of Mexican artists from the United States and Mexico. Marván, who migrated to the small community of Viroqua, Wisconsin, from Mexico in 2019, struggled to find local spaces to sell her work.
“I had pieces in a couple of galleries then, but I didn’t have enough work to fill an exhibition,” says Marván.
The closest Mexican art shop was a four-hour drive to Minneapolis, and those she reached out to suggested that her artwork was priced too high and could be less expensively purchased in Mexico. At first, the Collective operated as an online community, fostering the traditional arts, reconnecting to Mexican traditions and culture, and advocating for a more culturally diverse community of arts.
Marván’s efforts paid off. In 2021, the Collective’s collaboration with the nonprofit Driftless Curiosity and the McIntosh Memorial Library presented an immersive and outdoors regional Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration at schools, libraries, and other community-wide gatherings in Viola. The annual event now attracts 600 attendees to the Driftless area. This year’s event is on October 5 and will feature 5,000 marigolds harvested from Keewaydin Farms in Richland County.
The Día de Muertos in Wisconsin has become an important community-building event in and of itself. Growing in prominence and popularity, Día de Muertos, typically held on November 1 and 2, is a holiday widely observed in Mexico and by people of Mexican heritage. Traditions include erecting home alters—ofrendas—to welcome back the souls of deceased relatives for a brief reunion. The holiday is a festive occasion featuring food, drinks, and celebrations. In addition to the Mexican Folk Art Collective, Latino Arts, Inc., LOUD, and WPCA all organize their own version of the holiday, engaging the public in authentic cultural experiences that celebrate themes such as Mexican heritage, identity, love and loss, connection, and community.
While there is still plenty of work to be done to educate, engage, and empower artists young and old and to inspire and connect them in ways that validate their cultural heritage and identities, Latino/a/x arts organizations throughout the state are making an impact. The most effective engagement tools have often been those with the widest reach. Through collectives, collaborations, and partnerships, artists and arts organizations are generating authentic experiences, sharing resources, and broadening both audiences and opportunities. Most of all, these artists and the communities they serve are one step closer to feeling like they belong. It’s never too late to make a difference.
