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I think we're going to make
some calabacitas.

2
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Okay.

3
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We have Oaxaca cheese.

4
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In my region, you can't forget
about tacos and tortillas.

5
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What do you want me to do?

6
00:00:21,896 --> 00:00:23,440
We have to wash them.

7
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Should I wash the zucchinis?

8
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Let's wash them.

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I was starting out my career,

10
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and you were one of 
the first people who

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I started painting from life,

12
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because you were very patient and
you sat there a thousand times.

13
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I ended up painting your 
daughter and all your family.

14
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I think art is also a way
to gain more confidence.

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It depicts a more colorful life.

16
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I think it helps me to be in harmony.

17
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The colors--

18
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I think it transforms us.

19
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There's one family, Verónica and Marissa,

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that I've painted

21
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over the years.

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Now my relationship with them
has extended over 10 years.

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You can sit there, more or less, 
like the face--

24
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I'm trying to replicate
this when you were laying down

25
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with your mom at your home.

26
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I think that was how the face--

27
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Is that tall enough for you?

28
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This body of work is revisiting Marissa
and Verónica in their home in Queens.

29
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Revisiting that couch that 
I painted Marissa in with her father

30
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many years ago,

31
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with her mom and their papel picado,
and all their accouterments

32
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of their living room.

33
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Because we live
in a one-bedroom apartment,

34
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my parents would mostly sleep
outside in the living room

35
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because they didn't want to let 
me sleep on the sofa.

36
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Even though our space is very limited
and it's very small sometimes,

37
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it's filled with a lot of joy.

38
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The music sheet on the stand
has songs written in Náhuatl.

39
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That speaker is my mom's best friend.

40
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She blasts music at home,
and then she also takes it to the park

41
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for her bailoterapia classes.

42
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My mom really loves the bicycle.

43
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Her mom would always criticize her,
telling her that's something

44
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that a man does.

45
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For her, it's also a form of resistance,
knowing that she can really go anywhere.

46
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I feel like whenever I get together with Veronica, 
we talk about Marissa non-stop.

47
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because your mom and I are 
both so proud of your

48
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being in college at Cornell.

49
00:03:29,167 --> 00:03:32,003
No, but I'm actually very proud of her

50
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because she's one of my biggest inspirations.

51
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I think one of my earliest memories
is actually drawing with my mother,

52
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drawing dancers with her.

53
00:03:48,978 --> 00:03:52,607
Her pencil moving is one
of my earliest recollections of art.

54
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I grew up in Mexico City.

55
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My grandfather came from Belorussia
to Mexico when he was three

56
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and my mother arrived to Mexico
to study Art History.

57
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There's a saying in Spanish,
"Ni de aquí ni de allá,"

58
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which means you're neither from
here nor from there

59
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because I was always half Mexican,
half American.

60
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I grew up speaking English 
with my mother in Mexico.

61
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I had the privilege of being
an American citizen.

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I didn't have the fear that a lot
of immigrants have here,

63
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that might not have papers.

64
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I moved to the Midwest, to Chicago,
to study art at the Art Institute of Chicago.

65
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I went through a period in grad school
where I was an abstract painter.

66
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Then I moved to New York.

67
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I started to make
these little still-life paintings.

68
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They were inspired by street vendors
in Mexico with flower arrangements.

69
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I started studying psychology.

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This one philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas,
talks about how all ethics comes

71
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from the face-to-face relationship.

72
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The encounter with another person
that elicits an ethical demand.

73
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That ended up coming into my work,
this idea of sitting

74
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with somebody face-to-face
and painting them from life.

75
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A lot of painting,
because of its materiality

76
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and because of its gesture
and texture, almost feels like the presence

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of another person.

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I love capturing a moment
when a person might be lost

79
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in their own thoughts and imagining
what their interiority might be.

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Depicting people in moments
of contemplation

81
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where they're for themselves.

82
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I was always torn between whether I wanted
to be a social worker or a painter.

83
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I feel like it took all my life
pretty much up to this point

84
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where I've integrated both of 
those things in some ways.

85
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I met Aliza through IMI,
Immigrant Movement International,

86
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back when I was 12 years old.

87
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It was a long time ago.

88
00:06:04,322 --> 00:06:07,241
Welcome to this--

89
00:06:07,241 --> 00:06:09,786
Tania is this Cuban artist.

90
00:06:09,911 --> 00:06:12,538
She founded Immigrant
Movement International.

91
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The first movement called “Prelude.”

92
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My mom got really involved
and then started taking some classes

93
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with Aliza.

94
00:06:24,175 --> 00:06:29,806
I think it was 2012 when
I first met Tania Bruguera and

95
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I was so moved by her project
that I told her I wanted

96
00:06:33,976 --> 00:06:37,271
to participate somehow and I
wanted to teach a class.

97
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She told me that what was most
needed were English skills,

98
00:06:40,691 --> 00:06:45,905
so I devised a class that was basically
for a group of women, like English

99
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through art history.

100
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A lot of it ended up being
feminist art history

101
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because it's what they were
asking me about.

102
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I'll never forget that it was
because of the class I took with you

103
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on how to learn English

104
00:06:59,752 --> 00:07:01,629
through Frida's story.

105
00:07:01,754 --> 00:07:07,218
It was through art that I began
to grasp some English words.

106
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I got so interested in the
people's stories that I asked Tania

107
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if I could set up a makeshift
studio in one little corner

108
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and I'd leave my paintings overnight.

109
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I'd come back and depict
every person in my class.

110
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And then I started to depict
their extended families as well.

111
00:07:30,032 --> 00:07:32,160
Just being able to walk into that space,

112
00:07:32,743 --> 00:07:34,036
feeling supported.

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My parent’s immigration status,

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they would go in looking for support.

115
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I think it was also a place that brought

116
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a lot of hope.

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Things have still continued
beyond the physical space,

118
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like Mobile Print Power,
which is an art collective

119
00:07:55,725 --> 00:07:59,020
that I'm still part of til this day.

120
00:08:02,690 --> 00:08:06,486
And Mujeres en Movimiento that
my mom is still doing.

121
00:08:09,030 --> 00:08:11,824
I just had this desire to learn,

122
00:08:12,033 --> 00:08:15,620
never imagining that I'd be the one
to stick around afterward,

123
00:08:15,620 --> 00:08:19,415
self-guiding with videos,
and then finding myself dancing there.

124
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Fellow colleagues,
mothers who would tell me,

125
00:08:22,126 --> 00:08:25,296
“You can do it, yes, you nailed it,
you danced beautifully.”

126
00:08:25,296 --> 00:08:28,758
I was a little embarrassed.

127
00:08:31,469 --> 00:08:36,641
I loved breaking those stigmas,
those stereotypes,

128
00:08:36,641 --> 00:08:38,768
those insecurities.

129
00:08:42,396 --> 00:08:45,733
Ever since I moved here from Mexico,
I've been living in Corona.

130
00:08:48,194 --> 00:08:51,405
My dad and sisters were already here,

131
00:08:51,405 --> 00:08:55,076
but I was sad leaving my mom
and my community

132
00:08:55,076 --> 00:08:56,661
and not knowing anyone here.

133
00:08:57,245 --> 00:09:00,248
Adapting was a challenge.

134
00:09:02,833 --> 00:09:06,128
I feel like I started to connect
with the community

135
00:09:06,128 --> 00:09:08,214
when Marissa began school.

136
00:09:09,423 --> 00:09:13,094
Reach out, connect with more 
people or in places

137
00:09:13,094 --> 00:09:16,722
like schools, libraries, or museums.

138
00:09:19,225 --> 00:09:22,436
I don't say this thinking, 
“I've done all of this myself.”

139
00:09:22,436 --> 00:09:26,482
It’s been the strength of
a warrior community.

140
00:09:31,279 --> 00:09:34,991
It's very special to come back
to Queens almost 10 years

141
00:09:34,991 --> 00:09:36,867
after the Immigrant
Movement International,

142
00:09:36,867 --> 00:09:39,745
to be in residence at the Queens Museum.

143
00:09:40,621 --> 00:09:44,333
I reverted back to the class
I was teaching at IMI.

144
00:09:44,750 --> 00:09:47,503
There's a group of women 
that lead a food pantry

145
00:09:47,503 --> 00:09:50,631
that every Wednesday gets
distributed in the museum.

146
00:09:50,631 --> 00:09:53,676
And so I wanted to do
something for these volunteers.

147
00:09:55,886 --> 00:10:00,516
Every Tuesday night I'm teaching a class
through art-making this time,

148
00:10:01,017 --> 00:10:03,352
and I've taught them drawing and painting.

149
00:10:04,645 --> 00:10:06,689
Ready? Let’s get started.

150
00:10:07,315 --> 00:10:11,861
Today is the last class
where we'll all be together,

151
00:10:12,361 --> 00:10:15,031
taking a look at all the pieces
we've crafted over the semester.

152
00:10:15,114 --> 00:10:17,199
We call it the Group Critique.

153
00:10:17,241 --> 00:10:18,117
Group Critique.

154
00:10:18,117 --> 00:10:20,328
I've named mine “Mi Libertad” (My Freedom).

155
00:10:20,328 --> 00:10:23,873
When I was going through
some really tough times,

156
00:10:23,873 --> 00:10:27,376
I loved running through 
the countryside on horseback.

157
00:10:28,377 --> 00:10:34,592
The more I ran with the wind 
whipping my face, the freer I felt.

158
00:10:34,592 --> 00:10:35,926
It was as if I could fly.

159
00:10:36,344 --> 00:10:40,473
Hence, I named it “My Freedom”
after a mare I had.

160
00:10:43,017 --> 00:10:44,935
This painting is meant to represent

161
00:10:44,935 --> 00:10:47,271
something quite simple
and straightforward: materialism.

162
00:10:47,438 --> 00:10:49,357
We see fragments of banknotes, but why?

163
00:10:49,357 --> 00:10:51,942
Because it destroys families,
it shatters homes.

164
00:10:52,109 --> 00:10:54,779
We lose lives at the borders.

165
00:10:54,862 --> 00:10:57,948
This country indeed welcomes us,
immensely so,

166
00:10:57,948 --> 00:10:59,241
but it also separates us.

167
00:10:59,575 --> 00:11:00,785
I have this next painting.

168
00:11:00,910 --> 00:11:03,788
The next painting symbolizes the 
endurance of Indigenous woman

169
00:11:03,788 --> 00:11:06,457
because I am a descendant of the Cañaris.

170
00:11:08,209 --> 00:11:10,419
Sometimes we are voices
that go unheard,

171
00:11:10,419 --> 00:11:12,546
at times we are invisible.

172
00:11:12,838 --> 00:11:17,051
But despite that, we are a
powerful force here in this country.

173
00:11:18,094 --> 00:11:19,178
Thank you.

174
00:11:20,721 --> 00:11:24,225
When you have that sense of agency
of expressing yourself.

175
00:11:24,225 --> 00:11:27,687
You can also share resources
with each other and feel a sense

176
00:11:27,687 --> 00:11:29,980
of empowerment in that community.

177
00:11:31,691 --> 00:11:34,276
For people to really feel
like they can use the museum

178
00:11:34,276 --> 00:11:35,319
as a resource

179
00:11:35,319 --> 00:11:37,655
and as a space that's really for them.

180
00:11:41,117 --> 00:11:44,912
I also am interested in
the structural economy of paintings

181
00:11:44,912 --> 00:11:46,997
and I've done profit sharing

182
00:11:46,997 --> 00:11:48,165
when I work with a community

183
00:11:48,165 --> 00:11:50,876
or with a particular individual
over a long period of time.

184
00:11:52,294 --> 00:11:56,465
With this particular family, I gave them the 
first paintings that I made of them

185
00:11:56,465 --> 00:11:59,218
and they were able to 
benefit later on from that.

186
00:12:01,303 --> 00:12:03,764
I work as a housekeeper,

187
00:12:03,764 --> 00:12:07,226
but that wasn't enough for me 
to get by for one year

188
00:12:07,226 --> 00:12:10,020
or some months
during the pandemic.

189
00:12:10,020 --> 00:12:13,941
The gallery was able to provide us with
money so that we could pull through.

190
00:12:13,941 --> 00:12:15,484
For me, that was a relief, Aliza.

191
00:12:15,484 --> 00:12:16,986
I’ll never forget it.

192
00:12:29,206 --> 00:12:30,458
Do you know who is there?

193
00:12:30,458 --> 00:12:31,959
Who is it?

194
00:12:31,959 --> 00:12:33,377
Do you see yourself?

195
00:12:41,218 --> 00:12:43,262
I believe that creating spaces

196
00:12:43,262 --> 00:12:48,058
where we practice art
or make art

197
00:12:48,058 --> 00:12:50,227
is a way to connect.

198
00:12:50,227 --> 00:12:51,604
It is the most beautiful way.

199
00:12:55,232 --> 00:12:59,987
Being with this community here,
it’s like finding a home in a way.

200
00:13:02,615 --> 00:13:05,409
Aliza, hello!

201
00:13:06,076 --> 00:13:07,745
So nice to see you.

202
00:13:11,999 --> 00:13:15,920
The biggest resource we have is
these relationships and the communities

203
00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:17,254
that have continued.

204
00:13:18,881 --> 00:13:21,801
Your resources are your 
people around you.