WEBVTT 00:00:09.175 --> 00:00:11.761 I think we're going to make some calabacitas. 00:00:11.761 --> 00:00:12.387 Okay. 00:00:12.387 --> 00:00:15.265 We have Oaxaca cheese. 00:00:15.265 --> 00:00:19.769 In my region, you can't forget about tacos and tortillas. 00:00:20.228 --> 00:00:21.479 What do you want me to do? 00:00:21.896 --> 00:00:23.440 We have to wash them. 00:00:23.690 --> 00:00:25.233 Should I wash the zucchinis? 00:00:26.026 --> 00:00:27.694 Let's wash them. 00:00:34.492 --> 00:00:36.119 I was starting out my career, 00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:39.164 and you were one of the first people who 00:00:39.164 --> 00:00:40.915 I started painting from life, 00:00:40.915 --> 00:00:44.169 because you were very patient and you sat there a thousand times. 00:00:44.210 --> 00:00:48.214 I ended up painting your daughter and all your family. 00:00:48.631 --> 00:00:54.012 I think art is also a way to gain more confidence. 00:00:54.220 --> 00:00:59.684 It depicts a more colorful life. 00:00:59.684 --> 00:01:02.687 I think it helps me to be in harmony. 00:01:02.687 --> 00:01:04.606 The colors-- 00:01:04.647 --> 00:01:06.733 I think it transforms us. 00:01:26.294 --> 00:01:28.880 There's one family, Verónica and Marissa, 00:01:28.880 --> 00:01:30.048 that I've painted 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:31.299 over the years. 00:01:31.299 --> 00:01:34.511 Now my relationship with them has extended over 10 years. 00:01:36.971 --> 00:01:40.141 You can sit there, more or less, like the face-- 00:01:40.433 --> 00:01:42.977 I'm trying to replicate this when you were laying down 00:01:42.977 --> 00:01:44.854 with your mom at your home. 00:01:45.313 --> 00:01:47.148 I think that was how the face-- 00:01:47.148 --> 00:01:49.109 Is that tall enough for you? 00:02:01.037 --> 00:02:06.793 This body of work is revisiting Marissa and Verónica in their home in Queens. 00:02:10.964 --> 00:02:14.300 Revisiting that couch that I painted Marissa in with her father 00:02:14.300 --> 00:02:15.301 many years ago, 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:23.143 with her mom and their papel picado, and all their accouterments 00:02:23.143 --> 00:02:24.144 of their living room. 00:02:30.775 --> 00:02:32.902 Because we live in a one-bedroom apartment, 00:02:32.902 --> 00:02:35.613 my parents would mostly sleep outside in the living room 00:02:35.613 --> 00:02:38.074 because they didn't want to let me sleep on the sofa. 00:02:38.616 --> 00:02:42.662 Even though our space is very limited and it's very small sometimes, 00:02:42.662 --> 00:02:44.914 it's filled with a lot of joy. 00:02:46.624 --> 00:02:51.796 The music sheet on the stand has songs written in Náhuatl. 00:02:52.255 --> 00:02:54.507 That speaker is my mom's best friend. 00:02:55.216 --> 00:02:59.387 She blasts music at home, and then she also takes it to the park 00:02:59.387 --> 00:03:02.098 for her bailoterapia classes. 00:03:02.891 --> 00:03:05.435 My mom really loves the bicycle. 00:03:06.019 --> 00:03:09.105 Her mom would always criticize her, telling her that's something 00:03:09.105 --> 00:03:11.065 that a man does. 00:03:11.733 --> 00:03:16.196 For her, it's also a form of resistance, knowing that she can really go anywhere. 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:23.119 I feel like whenever I get together with Veronica, we talk about Marissa non-stop. 00:03:23.286 --> 00:03:26.414 because your mom and I are both so proud of your 00:03:26.414 --> 00:03:28.208 being in college at Cornell. 00:03:29.167 --> 00:03:32.003 No, but I'm actually very proud of her 00:03:32.003 --> 00:03:34.339 because she's one of my biggest inspirations. 00:03:43.348 --> 00:03:47.143 I think one of my earliest memories is actually drawing with my mother, 00:03:47.143 --> 00:03:48.519 drawing dancers with her. 00:03:48.978 --> 00:03:52.607 Her pencil moving is one of my earliest recollections of art. 00:03:53.524 --> 00:03:55.235 I grew up in Mexico City. 00:03:55.693 --> 00:04:00.490 My grandfather came from Belorussia to Mexico when he was three 00:04:00.490 --> 00:04:04.702 and my mother arrived to Mexico to study Art History. 00:04:07.121 --> 00:04:09.540 There's a saying in Spanish, "Ni de aquí ni de allá," 00:04:09.540 --> 00:04:11.751 which means you're neither from here nor from there 00:04:11.751 --> 00:04:14.963 because I was always half Mexican, half American. 00:04:14.963 --> 00:04:17.966 I grew up speaking English with my mother in Mexico. 00:04:20.927 --> 00:04:24.430 I had the privilege of being an American citizen. 00:04:24.430 --> 00:04:28.768 I didn't have the fear that a lot of immigrants have here, 00:04:28.768 --> 00:04:30.937 that might not have papers. 00:04:33.106 --> 00:04:38.236 I moved to the Midwest, to Chicago, to study art at the Art Institute of Chicago. 00:04:39.529 --> 00:04:43.074 I went through a period in grad school where I was an abstract painter. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:47.495 Then I moved to New York. 00:04:47.495 --> 00:04:50.248 I started to make these little still-life paintings. 00:04:50.248 --> 00:04:54.877 They were inspired by street vendors in Mexico with flower arrangements. 00:04:56.129 --> 00:04:58.172 I started studying psychology. 00:04:58.172 --> 00:05:02.969 This one philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, talks about how all ethics comes 00:05:02.969 --> 00:05:04.595 from the face-to-face relationship. 00:05:05.263 --> 00:05:09.684 The encounter with another person that elicits an ethical demand. 00:05:09.684 --> 00:05:13.062 That ended up coming into my work, this idea of sitting 00:05:13.062 --> 00:05:16.065 with somebody face-to-face and painting them from life. 00:05:17.775 --> 00:05:20.153 A lot of painting, because of its materiality 00:05:20.153 --> 00:05:23.323 and because of its gesture and texture, almost feels like the presence 00:05:23.323 --> 00:05:24.490 of another person. 00:05:25.491 --> 00:05:28.411 I love capturing a moment when a person might be lost 00:05:28.411 --> 00:05:31.706 in their own thoughts and imagining what their interiority might be. 00:05:32.582 --> 00:05:35.209 Depicting people in moments of contemplation 00:05:35.209 --> 00:05:36.961 where they're for themselves. 00:05:38.129 --> 00:05:42.467 I was always torn between whether I wanted to be a social worker or a painter. 00:05:42.467 --> 00:05:46.554 I feel like it took all my life pretty much up to this point 00:05:46.554 --> 00:05:49.724 where I've integrated both of those things in some ways. 00:05:55.104 --> 00:05:59.650 I met Aliza through IMI, Immigrant Movement International, 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:02.653 back when I was 12 years old. 00:06:02.653 --> 00:06:04.113 It was a long time ago. 00:06:04.322 --> 00:06:07.241 Welcome to this-- 00:06:07.241 --> 00:06:09.786 Tania is this Cuban artist. 00:06:09.911 --> 00:06:12.538 She founded Immigrant Movement International. 00:06:15.083 --> 00:06:17.794 The first movement called “Prelude.” 00:06:17.794 --> 00:06:21.047 My mom got really involved and then started taking some classes 00:06:21.047 --> 00:06:22.006 with Aliza. 00:06:24.175 --> 00:06:29.806 I think it was 2012 when I first met Tania Bruguera and 00:06:29.806 --> 00:06:33.976 I was so moved by her project that I told her I wanted 00:06:33.976 --> 00:06:37.271 to participate somehow and I wanted to teach a class. 00:06:37.271 --> 00:06:40.691 She told me that what was most needed were English skills, 00:06:40.691 --> 00:06:45.905 so I devised a class that was basically for a group of women, like English 00:06:45.905 --> 00:06:48.116 through art history. 00:06:48.116 --> 00:06:50.410 A lot of it ended up being feminist art history 00:06:50.410 --> 00:06:52.328 because it's what they were asking me about. 00:06:52.662 --> 00:06:57.708 I'll never forget that it was because of the class I took with you 00:06:57.708 --> 00:06:59.752 on how to learn English 00:06:59.752 --> 00:07:01.629 through Frida's story. 00:07:01.754 --> 00:07:07.218 It was through art that I began to grasp some English words. 00:07:09.178 --> 00:07:12.932 I got so interested in the people's stories that I asked Tania 00:07:12.932 --> 00:07:16.185 if I could set up a makeshift studio in one little corner 00:07:16.185 --> 00:07:18.020 and I'd leave my paintings overnight. 00:07:18.020 --> 00:07:21.566 I'd come back and depict every person in my class. 00:07:23.609 --> 00:07:27.780 And then I started to depict their extended families as well. 00:07:30.032 --> 00:07:32.160 Just being able to walk into that space, 00:07:32.743 --> 00:07:34.036 feeling supported. 00:07:34.036 --> 00:07:35.913 My parent’s immigration status, 00:07:35.913 --> 00:07:39.208 they would go in looking for support. 00:07:39.333 --> 00:07:41.169 I think it was also a place that brought 00:07:41.169 --> 00:07:42.170 a lot of hope. 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:52.555 Things have still continued beyond the physical space, 00:07:53.055 --> 00:07:55.725 like Mobile Print Power, which is an art collective 00:07:55.725 --> 00:07:59.020 that I'm still part of til this day. 00:08:02.690 --> 00:08:06.486 And Mujeres en Movimiento that my mom is still doing. 00:08:09.030 --> 00:08:11.824 I just had this desire to learn, 00:08:12.033 --> 00:08:15.620 never imagining that I'd be the one to stick around afterward, 00:08:15.620 --> 00:08:19.415 self-guiding with videos, and then finding myself dancing there. 00:08:19.415 --> 00:08:22.126 Fellow colleagues, mothers who would tell me, 00:08:22.126 --> 00:08:25.296 “You can do it, yes, you nailed it, you danced beautifully.” 00:08:25.296 --> 00:08:28.758 I was a little embarrassed. 00:08:31.469 --> 00:08:36.641 I loved breaking those stigmas, those stereotypes, 00:08:36.641 --> 00:08:38.768 those insecurities. 00:08:42.396 --> 00:08:45.733 Ever since I moved here from Mexico, I've been living in Corona. 00:08:48.194 --> 00:08:51.405 My dad and sisters were already here, 00:08:51.405 --> 00:08:55.076 but I was sad leaving my mom and my community 00:08:55.076 --> 00:08:56.661 and not knowing anyone here. 00:08:57.245 --> 00:09:00.248 Adapting was a challenge. 00:09:02.833 --> 00:09:06.128 I feel like I started to connect with the community 00:09:06.128 --> 00:09:08.214 when Marissa began school. 00:09:09.423 --> 00:09:13.094 Reach out, connect with more people or in places 00:09:13.094 --> 00:09:16.722 like schools, libraries, or museums. 00:09:19.225 --> 00:09:22.436 I don't say this thinking, “I've done all of this myself.” 00:09:22.436 --> 00:09:26.482 It’s been the strength of a warrior community. 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:34.991 It's very special to come back to Queens almost 10 years 00:09:34.991 --> 00:09:36.867 after the Immigrant Movement International, 00:09:36.867 --> 00:09:39.745 to be in residence at the Queens Museum. 00:09:40.621 --> 00:09:44.333 I reverted back to the class I was teaching at IMI. 00:09:44.750 --> 00:09:47.503 There's a group of women that lead a food pantry 00:09:47.503 --> 00:09:50.631 that every Wednesday gets distributed in the museum. 00:09:50.631 --> 00:09:53.676 And so I wanted to do something for these volunteers. 00:09:55.886 --> 00:10:00.516 Every Tuesday night I'm teaching a class through art-making this time, 00:10:01.017 --> 00:10:03.352 and I've taught them drawing and painting. 00:10:04.645 --> 00:10:06.689 Ready? Let’s get started. 00:10:07.315 --> 00:10:11.861 Today is the last class where we'll all be together, 00:10:12.361 --> 00:10:15.031 taking a look at all the pieces we've crafted over the semester. 00:10:15.114 --> 00:10:17.199 We call it the Group Critique. 00:10:17.241 --> 00:10:18.117 Group Critique. 00:10:18.117 --> 00:10:20.328 I've named mine “Mi Libertad” (My Freedom). 00:10:20.328 --> 00:10:23.873 When I was going through some really tough times, 00:10:23.873 --> 00:10:27.376 I loved running through the countryside on horseback. 00:10:28.377 --> 00:10:34.592 The more I ran with the wind whipping my face, the freer I felt. 00:10:34.592 --> 00:10:35.926 It was as if I could fly. 00:10:36.344 --> 00:10:40.473 Hence, I named it “My Freedom” after a mare I had. 00:10:43.017 --> 00:10:44.935 This painting is meant to represent 00:10:44.935 --> 00:10:47.271 something quite simple and straightforward: materialism. 00:10:47.438 --> 00:10:49.357 We see fragments of banknotes, but why? 00:10:49.357 --> 00:10:51.942 Because it destroys families, it shatters homes. 00:10:52.109 --> 00:10:54.779 We lose lives at the borders. 00:10:54.862 --> 00:10:57.948 This country indeed welcomes us, immensely so, 00:10:57.948 --> 00:10:59.241 but it also separates us. 00:10:59.575 --> 00:11:00.785 I have this next painting. 00:11:00.910 --> 00:11:03.788 The next painting symbolizes the endurance of Indigenous woman 00:11:03.788 --> 00:11:06.457 because I am a descendant of the Cañaris. 00:11:08.209 --> 00:11:10.419 Sometimes we are voices that go unheard, 00:11:10.419 --> 00:11:12.546 at times we are invisible. 00:11:12.838 --> 00:11:17.051 But despite that, we are a powerful force here in this country. 00:11:18.094 --> 00:11:19.178 Thank you. 00:11:20.721 --> 00:11:24.225 When you have that sense of agency of expressing yourself. 00:11:24.225 --> 00:11:27.687 You can also share resources with each other and feel a sense 00:11:27.687 --> 00:11:29.980 of empowerment in that community. 00:11:31.691 --> 00:11:34.276 For people to really feel like they can use the museum 00:11:34.276 --> 00:11:35.319 as a resource 00:11:35.319 --> 00:11:37.655 and as a space that's really for them. 00:11:41.117 --> 00:11:44.912 I also am interested in the structural economy of paintings 00:11:44.912 --> 00:11:46.997 and I've done profit sharing 00:11:46.997 --> 00:11:48.165 when I work with a community 00:11:48.165 --> 00:11:50.876 or with a particular individual over a long period of time. 00:11:52.294 --> 00:11:56.465 With this particular family, I gave them the first paintings that I made of them 00:11:56.465 --> 00:11:59.218 and they were able to benefit later on from that. 00:12:01.303 --> 00:12:03.764 I work as a housekeeper, 00:12:03.764 --> 00:12:07.226 but that wasn't enough for me to get by for one year 00:12:07.226 --> 00:12:10.020 or some months during the pandemic. 00:12:10.020 --> 00:12:13.941 The gallery was able to provide us with money so that we could pull through. 00:12:13.941 --> 00:12:15.484 For me, that was a relief, Aliza. 00:12:15.484 --> 00:12:16.986 I’ll never forget it. 00:12:29.206 --> 00:12:30.458 Do you know who is there? 00:12:30.458 --> 00:12:31.959 Who is it? 00:12:31.959 --> 00:12:33.377 Do you see yourself? 00:12:41.218 --> 00:12:43.262 I believe that creating spaces 00:12:43.262 --> 00:12:48.058 where we practice art or make art 00:12:48.058 --> 00:12:50.227 is a way to connect. 00:12:50.227 --> 00:12:51.604 It is the most beautiful way. 00:12:55.232 --> 00:12:59.987 Being with this community here, it’s like finding a home in a way. 00:13:02.615 --> 00:13:05.409 Aliza, hello! 00:13:06.076 --> 00:13:07.745 So nice to see you. 00:13:11.999 --> 00:13:15.920 The biggest resource we have is these relationships and the communities 00:13:15.920 --> 00:13:17.254 that have continued. 00:13:18.881 --> 00:13:21.801 Your resources are your people around you.