La Peña Gallery in Austin, Texas:
A Site of Latina Art, Politics and Resistance
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Inspired by her own experience growing up in her Austin, Texas home full of her Mexican mother's paintings, and regular gallery exhibits with tamales and salsa music, Sofia was eager to document and share the artwork of the Latina artists she was surrounded by. She and several classmates at Harvard put together this archival documentation of artwork and interviews with the artists creating in Austin and the community members that support them. Through this art we can learn about our own feminist, Latina narratives and share these works with the world, in the hopes of liberating our people from the hegemonic domination of white, male narratives.
BRIEF HISTORY
Latinx Art Community in Austin
While well known internationally for its rich cultural arts and music scene, Austin has few secure, low-cost outlets for latinx artists to exhibit and share their work. The mainstream galleries often require exclusivity with the artists they show and there is a devaluing of chicanx artwork in favor of bringing in visiting Mexican artists at the well-funded galleries like Mexic-Arte and the Mexican-American Cultural Center. That is why La Peña Gallery, a local nonprofit community gallery for latinx artists is so important to the preservation of latinx art. Even the East Austin Studio Tour, which brings the focus to the artists in the historically segregated and low-income latinx and black neighborhoods of Austin can cause problems by causing gentrification. Latinx and Chicanx art, especially, are constantly being undervalued, underexposed, and the artists, pushed out of the city. That is why we hope to document and empower these artists and their work.
LILIANA WILSON
Liliana Wilson was born in ValparaÃso, Chile. Studied law at the Catholic University of Valparaiso, Chile.
In 1977, she visited the United States and subsequently settled in Austin, Texas. She studied drawing at Austin Community College, and painting at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. She has exhibited throughout the United States Mexico and Italy.
ANA LILIA SALINAS
Ana Lilia Salinas grew up in South Texas, the child of a multi-generation chicanx family. She studied art at Texas A&M University in Kingsville, Texas and then taught art in Austin schools for 10 years. She then ran a popular Mexican restaurant, El Sol y La Luna for twelve years until she went back to teaching, all the while, painting, exhibiting, and contributing her work to galleries and publications across Texas and California.
CYNTHIA PÉREZ
Cynthia Pérez grew up in San Antonio, Texas and moved to Austin to finish college at the University of Texas. She has been a life-long activist for chicanx and queer women, particularly the in the art community through her founding of La Peña art gallery with her sister in 1981.
NAXIELI GÓMEZ
Naxieli Gómez is a self-described “graphic designer, animator, illustrator, web developer, geek, [and] painter.” She comes from a long line of Tehuana matriarchs from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (part of Oaxaca, Mexico), her grandmother speaking primarily Zapotec. She moved to New York to study art and later to Austin, Texas.
MODESTA TREVIÑO
Modesta is lifelong activist, teacher, and art curator. Modesta grew up in Austin, Texas and was an instrumental organizer in the hay-day of the chicano student movements. She was on the board of La Peña, and curated a number of important cultural exhibits and panels for Latinx artists, particularly on U.S. Latina and Mexicana artist unity, collaboration, and exchange. She was an founding member of MAS (Mujeres Artistas del Suroeste), a component of the umbrella group LUCHA (League of United Chicano Artists) and an organizer in the Farm Workers March of 1966. She pushed for bilingual education and cultural engagement at Sanchez Elementary School where she was a teacher for many years.