One presentation I enjoyed learning about was by Ana De La Rosa on artist Nancy Pili Hernandez. Hernandez is a social justice muralist and she is most famous for participating in hanging the "resist" banner in front of the white house. Nancy and six other green peace protestors were arrested and two weeks after the city gave her an award which goes to show how absurd it was for protestors to be arrested and then awarded for their work. Prior to this presentation, I did not know that this had occurred, and I think it takes great courage to be willing to make such a statement and know that there will be legal consequences. One work I enjoyed learning about was her anti-eviction work, they painted on "Not for sale, families live here" and there were handprints as well to show how many lives were going to be affected if the eviction happened. The tenants had nowhere to go and we learn that the real estate company had taken advantage of the older woman who was the homeowner because she did not have the capacity to make the decision to sell her property. However, they still lost the battle in court because it was ruled nothing could be done because the paperwork had already been signed. Hernandez's work shows us that art is multifaceted and can be utilized for activism to foster change in our communities. I liked learning about how Hernandez believes that creating a mural together is a form of community which is why she does not like to create murals on her own. It is clear that for Hernandez fostering community is pivotal and art can be used as a common ground to form lifelong connections. I am looking forward to learning more about social justice muralists like Hernandez and will definitely be looking into muralists like such in my community.
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