Kids going to play Crosser or La Migra at the Denver Art Museum’s exhibit, ReVisión: Art in the Americas. These video games were shown alongside other works of art created in ancient, colonial and contemporary techniques.
Thanks to Justin Ankenbauer

Anderson Ranch Art Center has released a new series of programs aimed at strengthening services to the regional community through Latino arts and culture offerings. The multi-faceted program will run for three years, with the aim of uniting artists and art lovers around a shared interest in Latino art and culture.

“I think the core of the programming is to address the lack of representation of Latinx artists in what we consider mainstream arts programming and in the art world,” said Olivia Martin, Latinx arts community leader and children’s coordinator at Anderson Ranch. Arts Center.

Many of the planned programs are aimed at addressing the lack of representation of Latinx artists and voices that have yet to be heard, Martinez said.

“We’re trying to address those shortcomings in a community-based way,” she said. “Art and our understanding of our world can help us better connect with who we are, our community and the people who make up our community.”

According to the Anderson Ranch Arts Center websiteprograms under this initiative include the Latinx Visiting Artists Program, Teacher Training Program, Latinx Art Curriculum, Community Celebration, Latinx Youth Summer Workshop Scholarships, and more outreach programs.

Artist Ricky Armendariz will be visiting the Anderson Ranch Arts Center October 2-15.
Thanks to Ricky Armendariz

On October 8, Anderson Ranch Arts Center hosts Finding Your Voice: Culture and Community in Latinx Art. This discussion, moderated by Anderson Ranch Arts Center board member Alex Sánchez, features a panel of Latino artists, educators, and community leaders who will explore the impact of Latino culture, history, and experiences on creative communities and voices. discuss.

Sánchez, the son of two Mexican immigrants, grew up in El Jebel and attended Basalt High School. A longtime member of the Valley, he has noticed the growth of the Latino community.

“I remember growing up, we used to be much fewer in number. We are now almost 35 percent of the entire region,” he said.

In addition to being a board member of Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Sánchez is a founder and executive director of Voces Unidas. Voces Unidas is the first Latino to have founded and led advocacy organizations in the region.

“Art culture and community are intertwined. As an art institution, the Ranch has a place to bring the community together, but I think it’s more important to continue building a community,” Sánchez said. “I think this program empowers the Latino community to experience art, see relevant art that appeals to us, and create art in a world-class facility like the Ranch.”

Sánchez said he is proud of the Ranch’s efforts to bring in a diverse group of artists and ensure that members of the local community have access to the facilities and create world-class art.

The Latinx Arts and Education workshop is another part of the program that both Sánchez and Martinez are excited about. The workshop will bring together local teachers and community leaders and give them the opportunity to interact with the visiting artists and learn the curriculum to bring back to their classrooms, Martinez said.

Kids participate in a Day of the Dead art activity at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center.
Courtesy of Anderson Ranch Arts Center

“This is something that I’m really excited about because at the Ranch we have so many great artists coming over here and sometimes it’s hard to get everyone to connect with those artists,” Martinez said.

The Anderson Ranch Arts Center has partnered with a curriculum development company to create a curriculum about the visiting artists and their work for educators to use. Martinez said this curriculum is especially valuable because children will see themselves in their school and realize that there are people who are like them and share their experiences.

“No matter what community you are a part of, other young children can learn about these amazing artists and cultural traditions,” says Martinez. “Cross-cultural connection is very important whether you identify as Latino or not.”

“I think these are great pipeline programs to introduce young minds and young people to art and see themselves as part of this art community. The long-term impact of that is invaluable,” Sánchez said.

According to Sánchez, Latino students may not feel safe or welcome in many mainstream arts programs and see themselves reflected in the experiences. Arts institutions strive for programs that focus on engaging the creative minds of children, but most programs fall short when it comes to diversity, Sánchez said.

“What the Ranch is modeling is a program where young people, who in this case are Latinos, experience a curriculum designed to make sure they see themselves,” he said.

From September 18 to October 15, Rafael Fajardo will be a visiting artist working at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center. Fajardo, a Latin American immigrant, makes socially conscious video games as an art form. He is also scheduled to be a part of the panel for Finding Your Voice: Culture and Community in Latinx Art and the Arts and Education Workshop.

Artist Rafael Fajardo will visit the Anderson Ranch Arts Center from September 18 to October 15.
Thanks to Roddy MacInnes

As a Latin American artist and immigrant, Fajardo said he has always been aware of the absence of Latinx voices in the mainstream media. When he started exploring the idea of ​​creating subject-heavy video games twenty years ago, the consensus was that he couldn’t.

“Our first experiments really took the gameplay of the most popular video games of the time and changed the visual artwork in those games. We showed that you can indeed have video games that talk about serious topics,” he said.

“We took the gameplay of Frogger, one of the most commercially successful arcade video games of all time, and changed the visual artwork from a cute frog into a cute brown person,” Fajardo said. “We found it on the US-Mexico border and put the player in the role of a cute brown person trying to cross the US-Mexico border.”

This image was taken from an early point in the game Crosser. It shows the player’s character, Carlos Moreno, in his starting position at the bottom of the image.
Thanks to SWEAT Collaborative

Fajardo lived and worked on the US-Mexico border when he made the game. For him, the game was both a personal investment and a story.

“That game had a very specific set of messages. On the one hand, it was a critique of video games that had come before. It was also representing people who weren’t there and providing stories that weren’t present in the media. showed that the medium is able to deal with diverse representations and diverse narratives,” he said.

While exploring video games as an art form and medium of expression is fairly new, Fajardo said there are now many others finding identity and voice through video game making.

“I am honored and humbled to be considered worthy of being a role model for communities,” he said. “I hope I can really help someone find their voice and help someone find their way through art.”

aryan@aspentimes.com