Artist Residency—July 2023
BE YOURSELF, FEEL FREE
Almendra Vergara & Jessica Chiapa
Open to the public, Thursday-Saturday 11am-6pm
As immigrant and Mexican artists Almendra and Jessica explore themes of ethnicity, immigrant women's experience, identity and belonging. Their art is related to nature, mixing all these themes with the roots of culture. We use many techniques and materials to explore the artwork's identity, home, belonging, and resilience themes. Their pieces often feature images and symbols that reflect Mexican culture and heritage and the diversity of experiences and backgrounds of immigrant women.
As immigrant artists, our work explores the paths women must follow to achieve their goals in a foreign country and the challenges of adapting to a new life and starting from scratch. Through our art, we seek to express the complexity of the migration experience and the struggles and triumphs women face.
The goal as an artist is to create a space for reflection and emotional connection with women's migration experience while highlighting the struggles and resistances they face in their daily lives. Through my art, We seek to raise awareness about the difficulties but also the strength and creativity that immigrant women possess.
Moreover, we hope our artwork can inspire other immigrant women to share their stories and experiences and find a community that provides them with support and solidarity. Ultimately, my artwork aims to foster empathy and understanding among people from different cultures and backgrounds and to promote a more inclusive and just society.
Throughout the month of July, there will be a variety of performances (stage readings of poetry by Latin American women, paper puppetry), workshops for adults (mask making, paper scenarios, self-portrait, embroidery, and more), as well as families (painting and crafts). All events in workshops are in English and Spanish!
Como inmigrantes y artistas mexicanas, Almendra y Jessica exploran los temas étnicos, las experiencias de inmigrantes, identidad y pertenencia. Su arte está vinculado con la naturaleza, mezclando estos temas con sus raíces culturales. Usan muchas técnicas y materiales para explorar la identidad de su arte, hogar, pertenencia y temas de resiliencia. Sus piezas continuamente son imágenes y símbolos que reflejan la cultura mexicana, su herencia, la diversas experiencias y el trasfondo como mujeres migrantes.
Como artistas inmigrantes, nuestro trabajo explora los caminos que deben seguir las mujeres para lograr sus objetivos en un país extranjero y los desafíos de adaptarse a una nueva vida y comenzar de cero. A través de nuestro arte, buscamos expresar la complejidad de la experiencia migratoria y las luchas y triunfos que enfrentan las mujeres.
El objetivo como artistas es crear un espacio de reflexión y conexión emocional con la experiencia migratoria de las mujeres, al mismo tiempo que resalta las luchas y resistencias que enfrentan en su vida diaria. A través de mi arte, buscamos concienciar sobre las dificultades pero también sobre la fuerza y creatividad que poseen las mujeres inmigrantes.
Además, esperamos que nuestra obra de arte pueda inspirar a otras mujeres inmigrantes a compartir sus historias y experiencias y encontrar una comunidad que les brinde apoyo y solidaridad. En última instancia, mi obra de arte tiene como objetivo fomentar la empatía y el entendimiento entre personas de diferentes culturas y orígenes y promover una sociedad más inclusiva y justa.
About Almendra & Jessica
Almendra Vergara
Mexican Multidisciplinary artist based in Calgary, with a Bachelor´s degree in Visual Arts, passionate artist who focuses on performance, visual arts and cultural promotion, painting, opera, theatre design and arts education. I explored how migrants have adapted to changes, the steps and paths we have taken to survive in a country that is totally different from where we were born. It becomes a work of identity, of strengthening our roots, of knowing where we came from.
Jessica Chaipa
Jessica holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts in Painting which allows her to explore different techniques and create pieces. She is currently creating new paintings on canvas, and the materials allow her to analyze herself from the roots. Jessica is on the search for her being and the appreciation of an “I” without comparisons or standards. She found the true value of existence in her ancestors and nature, which led her to self-knowledge that she would like to reveal in-depth.
