Week 8- Afro Latinidad x Printing the Revolution

    This past Thursday's "Printing the Revolution" Panel discussion brought to light conversations of intersectionality which is vital to understanding cultural artistic histories and continuities. The three artists who presented all shared a common experience of drawing inspiration from the shared experience of oppression and simultaneous fight for liberation and autonomy.  Malaquias Montoya, Moses Ros, and Favianna Rodriguez, all from various cultural groups and states, they found a connection to the art of poster making to bring awareness to social movements that were affecting their communities, to "bringing people together and doing positive things" as Ros says. I also value the various temporal contexts in which the artists' works arose, or the events which inspired their art arose, and how the movements inspire each other. It feels like ancestry. The Afro Peruvian speaker from Oakland expressed how they were inspired by the work of feminists such as Audre Lorde and and Gloria Anzaldua, and developed an affinity for poster making and honoring Indigenous heritage both across the African diaspora and the Latinidad. I really appreciated the discussion about the physicality and visceral nature behind print making, how creating and putting in the body's labor is a liberating process.  Hearing these intersections of stories and art styles provided a sense of empowerment within me and reinforced my love for art created by BIPOC people.