week 10 - reflection

As a Chicana and an artist, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that before this course, I couldn’t name more than 5 Chicana artists off the top of my head. I’ve been making and studying art since I was in high school but all of the required art history classes I’ve ever taken have primarily focused on art made by straight white men. If you want to learn about art outside of the European canon of history, you have to seek out that information on your own or take a specialized course dedicated to that specific “other” kind of art. I’m grateful that this course has exposed me to a plethora of amazing Chicana and Latina artists. Having Ofelia Esparza come and speak to the class was probably one of the most memorable and impactful parts of this course. It’s one thing to research an artist online, but to be fortunate enough to have a physical, in-person interaction with someone you admire is truly priceless. I’m super thankful that she took the time out of her busy life to come and share a little bit of herself with us—it’s incredibly generous and I wish we could’ve had more artists come and do the same.