Week 10: Reflection

When I learned that there was a course titled "Chicana Art & Artists" I knew it had my name written all over it. When I learned Profe Lopez was teaching it, I geeked out some more. As we approach the end of this course, I can wholeheartedly say that this class completely lived up to my expectations. As both a Xicana artist and arts administrator in the field of Chicana/o art, I've had a unique experience of being exposed to many of the artists we had the privilege of learning about. However, I've never had the opportunity to learn about all the artists we covered and the readings assigned in higher education and this has been such a beautiful experience. Especially as a nontraditional student, it's been transformative to be exposed to so much research, theory, and literature on Chicana/o art. All of these learnings will continue to inform both my own practice and the way I see others' work. One of my favorite aspects of this class has definitely been the sketchbook project. And it's been my favorite in a surprising way, it's helped me feel more inspired, it's pushed me to actually be in the practice of creating, and it's forced me out of my comfort zone. This has been one of the few classes since I've arrived at UCLA that has really inspired me to continue my journey in higher education after obtaining my B.A. For that, I'm eternally grateful. It's shown me that I don't have to choose between my commitment to art or academia, rather I can bridge the two and pursue research in what I'm passionate about: archiving the legacies of Chicana lesbian and queer artists. It's also really exciting to think back on one of the first activities we did where everyone had to write names on the board of men, non-binary, and women artists. While that list was abundant with mujeres, it's powerful to know now that it has grown tenfold.