"Q&A: Maritza Bautista." DVINO, March 2024. Laredo Morning Times, March 10, 2024.

I am extremely honored to be featured in the March issue of Dvino Magazine alongside other incredible women. Thank you, DVINO and Special Sections Editor, Louis San Miguel for the invitation to participate.

March 9, 2024
Reflecting

It’s been two weeks since Day 2 of the MIRAAA Media Fest in Laredo, held at Laredo Center for the Arts. Day 1 was in Harlingen ENTRE Film Center. Both days were COMPLETELY magical.

Each time I think back on any of it, the talks shared between the organizers + working next to people I'm incredibly proud to call colleagues (Josue, Natalia, C, Andres, Liz, Andrea & Norma); the launch parties; reviewing, selecting work, and pairing artists; the drive to Harlingen with Liz, Andrea and Norma in the car with me on a rainy day; watching the collaboration program for the first time in its entirety; thrifting in the RGV with Andres and the Laredo crew; curating and seeing the Laredo Art Exploration component come together; meeting new people and making new friends; sharing meals and laughs in the name of art; the after parties!; celebrating all the talented artists that were part of MIRAAA; witnessing the community come together: and all the learning… well, all I can say is, what an incredible journey!

I’m so happy MIRAAA exists.

To witness MIRAAA happen in two cities in South Texas, is a dream come true. This is really happening. It happened! I strongly believe it’s so important, now more than ever, for artists in South Texas to strengthen their bonds. It’s such an honor to be a part of this cultural work, next to people who I truly admire, respect and deeply value. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

For Laredo, this would not have been possible without the collective work of Trucha, Entre Film Center, Daphne Art Foundation, and Laredo Film Society. Nor without our sponsors. Thank you Laredo Center for the Arts and fab staff!, Webb County Heritage Foundation especially Lalo!, and LNF Distributors. More gratitude goes out to La Posada Hotel, Los Olvidados & Ricardo, and Bae Brunch Club.

It really does take a community. <3

Laredo Morning Times. Sunday, March 3, 2024.

"MIRAAA WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE GATEWAY CITY." DVINO, FEB 2024. Laredo Morning Times, February 3, 2024.

Film is a powerful medium to experience the human condition and its various characteristics, struggles, and triumphs. For the first time this year, Laredo will be host to the Miraaa Media Festival (MIRAAA), whose mission is to empower frontera artists to explore non-traditional storytelling and media through collaboration and experimentation with the intention of illuminating under-represented border narratives.

Miraaa
Look at what they did!
OJO
Alternative
media(aa)
sourced and inspired
by the land
(we are in.)

Frontera
Border/narrative
We collaborated
Empowered one another
Non commercial
From the valley
Puro956!

Miraaalxs

MIRAAA was launched for the first time in 2021 in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). It conceptualized as a collaborative effort between Trucha, a grassroots multimedia platform based in McAllen that uplifts stories, culture, and social movements of migrant and queer communities, ENTRE Film Center, an artist-run regional archive in Harlingen that provides access, knowledge, and skills in filmmaking and archival practices, and independent artist Natalia Rocafuerte. That year, MIRAAA organizers invited the Laredo Film Society (LFS) to curate a special block that featured films created by Laredo filmmakers.

A local nonprofit, LFS’ aim is to use film as an artistic, cultural, and educational practice to build community and empower locals to create.

The first iteration of the MIRAAA festival was produced and presented online as a virtual event due to the pandemic; nevertheless, it celebrated over 20 artists working within media in new and innovative ways. The festival included short films, bumpers, and RGV commissioned collaborations.

This time around, MIRAAA is even bigger!

Maritza Bautista, executive director of Daphne Art Foundation (Daphne), a nonprofit arts organization advancing the visual, performing, and media arts in the Laredo border region, an artist and filmmaker herself, was invited to join the crew of organizers for the second iteration of the MIRAAA festival. The addition served as a way to build community between Laredo and the RGV, as an initiative to solidify a network of artists and creatives.

Bautista’s experimental short, Pushing Cartón, was featured in the 2021 MIRAA festival as part of the LFS block.

As conversations about the new MIRAAA festival developed in mid-2023, it became evident that Laredo is a crucial market for the event, as well. With new audiences being created through Caminarte, a self-guided tour of the Laredo Cultural District every first Friday of the month, and the reawakening of the Laredo arts community through art exhibitions and cultural events at multiple venues like Gallery 201, Casa Ortiz, Laredo Center for the Arts, and Casa Daphne, as well as LFS’ Film Club Fridays and other pop-up art shows, the natural progression of the festival to showcase in Laredo became even more clear.
...

Read the full story HERE.

Highlighting Border Narratives: MIRAAA Media Fest is a 956/International Border Film Festival. Glasstire. November 27, 2023.

Excerpt from Kim Sandoval's story:

"For this second iteration of the festival, with the help of Maritza Bautista, Executive Director of the Daphne Art Foundation, the collective decided to merge the artists of the RGV and Laredo to make it “a 956 festival,” referring to the area code representing the region. Together, they are shaping the festival as a collective; they combined their efforts to create the current open call and also an open call for collaborations between artists, filmmakers, and visual artists to produce a film. The latter is meant to create works that “may not have existed if the individuals never met,” Ramirez explained."

Read the full story HERE.

Opens Friday, November 3, 2023!

Intriga is a collective conversation of the abstract and obscure through media (visual and sound), video, virtual worlds, and 2D works through a lens of urbanity.

The show features the artwork of:
Bernardo Diaz (Austin)
Jason Litman (@)
Zack Nguyen (Dallas)
Krista Quintanilla (@)
Vicky Ramos (@)
Natalia Rocafuerte (Minnesota)
Martha Viera (@)

Curated by Maritza Bautista, the exhibition is an invitation to converse with the unknown and awaken the psyche. In a way, it's a confrontation with the subconscious, shadows, and the curiosity that sparks inquiry -- within ourselves and our surroundings, between each other and others, or is left unanswered.

The exhibition will be on view at Casa Daphne, located at 1420 Washington Street in Laredo, from November 3 through January 5, 2024.

A great new program in the RGV, The Flower Shop Residency, is hosting its first exhibition!

An invitation to Flower Shop Residency's First Exhibition, "Art is Short for Artifact". Trucha. Written by Jesus Treviño. November 2, 2023.

Excerpt:

The goal of organizing the Flower Shop Art Residency was to bring artists from other places to Brownsville to share their art practices and perspectives with us. Giving the community more access to art could facilitate growth and enrichment, which I didn’t know I needed until leaving for grad school. I credit conversations with my friends Maritza Bautista and Rigoberto Luna, two incredibly driven and passionate people I deeply admire, and their work for their respective communities in Laredo and San Antonio, Texas, for inspiring me to pursue this project.

The Border is a Weapon, curated by Gil Rocha, is back in its third iteration at Point of Contact (Punto de Contacto) Gallery in Syracuse, New York.

Join us for the Opening Reception
Friday, September 29, 2023

A hybrid art talk will take place during the opening at 5:30 PM CST. If you would like to join the conversation please click HERE.

The Border is a Weapon features artwork by
Cande Aguilar (www)
Maritza Bautista
Angel Cabrales (www)
Ruben Luna (@)
Daniela Madrigal (@)
Juan de Dios Mora (www)
José Villalobos (www)

Follow the show on the Point of Contact Instagram.

The Border is a Weapon will be on view until November 12, 2023.

Open Call for 956 Artist Collabs
Miraaa Media Festival is looking for 6 Laredo- and 6 RGV-based artists to unite in a commissioned art piece!

Are you a musician looking for a killer music video?
Are you a video artist looking for an awesome score?

Send us your work before November 1, 2023 to be considered to be debuted in Miraaa Media Fest 2023. More HERE.

OPEN CALL FOR WORLD-WIDE BORDERLANDS NARRATIVES!

MIRAAA Media Festival launched virtually in 2021 in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas and celebrated over 20 artists working with media in new and innovative ways. MIRAAA's mission is to empower frontera artists to explore non-traditional storytelling and media through collaboration and experimentation with the intention of illuminating under-represented border narratives.

We are currently holding an open call for short film submissions through November 30, 2023 for the 2024 festival.

The 2nd iteration of MIRAAA Media Festival will take place in February 2024, in Harlingen and Laredo, Texas. This year, we are opening the festival to artists, creatives, filmmakers, media-makers, and experimenters from international borderlands, world-wide.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
MIRAAA is free to submit.

We are accepting non-commercial, digital format short fiction and non-fiction films up to 10 minutes in length in the categories of narrative, documentary, experimental film/video art, and animation. Filmmakers can submit up to three works (in the same or different categories).

There are no restrictions on the film's completion date–so it could be something made last month or ten years ago!

If the film is in a language other than English, we ask that filmmakers provide English subtitles. Alternatively, if the film is in English, we encourage and welcome the inclusion of other languages as subtitles for presentation of the film.

Submissions are open to border-based artists, creatives, filmmakers, media-makers, and experimenters from all international borders where at least 1 crew member must live and work from an international border.

DEADLINE
November 30, 2023. Submit at FilmFreeway.

Visit our website or write us at miraaamediafest@gmail.com.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

Cartoneros (Cardboard Scavengers) was recently selected for Best Direction at the 2023 Environmental Film and Screenplay Festival.

Listen to what the audience had to say.
Watch a short film review for Cartoneros.
FESTIVAL AUDIENCE FEEDBACK VIDEO
Running time • 7m 4s

CARDBOARD SCAVENGERS, 14min, USA
Directed by Marcela Moran and Maritza Bautista

The documentary explores scavenging practices in Laredo, Texas, focusing on the informal transborder recycling on the U.S.-Mexico border. The focus is on a married couple who are cartoneros (cardboard scavengers). Chole and Jose cross the border daily to collect cardboard and then transport it into Mexico to sell. The film depicts the ongoing interdependence of the economies of Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo. It introduces audiences to two people who depend on scavenging practices that help both countries' economies and recycling efforts.

Watch the audience feedback video for Cartoneros (Cardboard Scavengers) HERE.

I am beyond excited to be part of this amazing team of Fronterizxs collaborating to spotlight border narratives through experimental media!

Check it out and join us for the Miraaa Launch Parties!

- - -

MIRAAA Media Fest will return in 2024! This time around, Trucha, ENTRE, Laredo Film Society and Daphne Art Foundation are combining forces to host the festival across the 956 and we can't wait to share what's in store!

Join us on Saturday September 16th in Harlingen or Laredo for our 2024 launch party to learn more about festival submissions, commissioned collaborations and other ways to get involved! 2021's program will be screened while DJ sets by Chulita Vinyl Club & Rizu X set the vibe, refreshments served, and information about 2024's festival shared.

MIRAAAA Launch Party
Saturday September 16
7PM Doors / 8PM Announcements
Free and open to the public

Hope to see you there!

ENTRE Film Center
415 W. Jackson
Harlingen, TX 78550
+
Laredo Film Society
510 San Agustin Suite B
Laredo, Texas 78040

September 26, 2023

Cartoneros (Cardboard Scavengers) receives BEST DIRECTION at the 2023 Environmental Film and Screenplay Festival. Read highlights of the festival.

Laredo's Lost Moments in Time – Ep. 1: Sound Art Space was an experimental art warehouse like no other that existed from 2005-2008. LareDOS [redux]: A Journal of the Borderlands. Written by Ryan Cantú. September 14, 2023.

I often think of that moment in time when Sound existed and what it meant for me then, and how it continues to inspire me today. Ryan really pulled on my heartstrings with this story. For me, it was really fun being part of the AKA Collective, working with all the people quoted in this article, and organizing all those events.

From the article:

Maritza Bautista: I used to work at the Laredo Center for the Arts as the gallery coordinator, working closely with the exhibitions review committee. I would receive all the proposals, prepare all the slides the artists would send, and give a presentation to the committee recommending who we should show. Adam Parker Smith was one of the artists who submitted his work. He was working with textiles and making these little miniature people…they were nude but they were plush like textiles. At that time, I knew Marcela who was on the committee. She votes yes for that show, but everybody votes no. And I’m like upset about it! This was the kind of art that we needed to expose our community to. Laredo Center for the Arts had always been very conservative and traditional.

I told Marcela, “This show needs to go to Sound.” That’s when she told me, “you need to start meeting with us. It will be great because I’m the only woman there. You need to join the conversation. Let’s make it happen.”

This show that we wanted to bring to Laredo was going to cost money. I believe that’s when the A.K.A. Collective started. I was officially a part of the A.K.A. Collective, del aca, and that was kind of like the nonprofit version of Sound. And it was kind of like an exhibition review committee. We were working with the nonprofit Arts for Everyone, based in Encinal, so we could fundraise and bring these things to Laredo.

"On the Edge, Al Borde": Laredo's Emerging Artists Cross their Personal Borders at Landmark Exhibit. LareDOS [redux]: A Journal of the Borderlands. Written by Ryan Cantú. August 2, 2023.

From the article:

Maritza Bautista, Executive Director of Daphne, is an established artist and curator whose work often touches on deep border issues as reflected in her recurring project The Border is a Weapon. She said that when she first brainstormed On the Edge, she had leaned towards a border-focused angle. As she continued thinking about the theme, it grew broader in scope, and she used the concept of a border as a metaphor for emerging artists testing their edges with experimental work.

“When I was growing up here in my 20’s, there was a sense that to be a successful artist you had to conform, to choose your school of thought,” Bautista said. “With this exhibit, we wanted to push the artists to experiment and not be afraid of taking risks.”

According to Bautista, the border is a particularly good place to push limits. “These artists are not just on a physical border, which is so dynamic for so many reasons,” she said, adding, “They’re on this edge of exploration and experimentation, and they reflect their unique lives and backgrounds through their work.”

A Life Lived By Recycling. D’VINO Magazine. July 2023.

A story about our Waste Award for Cartoneros (Cardboard Scavengers) made it on D'VINO Magazine, an insert of the Laredo Morning Times!

Read an excerpt:

They have long been a familiar fixture in downtown Laredo. They pilot ram-shackle adapted bicycles that daily take on new “passengers” …flattered cardboard occupants that morph together to create a uniformly beige tower that often seems on the verge of collapse.

They are known as “cartoneros” and daily traverse the border’s bridges to collect recyclable cardboard, eking out a meager living that’s supported generations of families. Their challenge and struggle have now been captured in an award-winning documentary film, “Cardboard Scavengers”…

How Laredo is Reversing an Artist Exodus Glasstire. Written by Ryan Cantú. June 26, 2023.

I was captured in the Mix! Click on the link to read Cantu's story. It highlights Gil Rocha and other artists (Cesar Martinez, Ethel Shipton, Ana Laura Hernandez, and Mauro Martinez), LCA's acquisition project, and other opportunities happening around Laredo, including the "success" of Cultivarte Laredo!

Existing in Space and Time: Recent Exhibitions at Arts Fort Worth. Glasstire. June 17, 2023.

"Bits of text laid over the images within the zine read “Hay muchas casas de Cambio, sin cuenta. Pero debajo del agua nada. Mucho pez.” Having just returned from a trip to Mexico, I flashed back to the brief moment I entered a bank to exchange my dollars for pesos, a moment I didn’t give much thought to or reflect on — it was merely a task to complete. Bautista explores aspects of life which could be considered mundane, such as an overlooked interaction of exchange and the transference of value." - Emma S. Ahmad

Up-and-Coming Artists Take Center Stage at Laredo College Art Exhibit. LMT Online. June 12, 2023.

On the Edge, Al Borde. Collective exhibition curated by Maritza Bautista featuring the artwork of 8 up-and-coming young Laredo artists: Alexander Barron, Alejandro Cortinas, Genesis Hernandez, Kassandra Romero, Homero Salazar, Raul Seca Jr., Gabriela Treviño, and Martha Viera. Presented by Daphne Art Foundation. On view at the Martha Fenstermaker Memorial Visual Arts Gallery at Laredo College until August 4, 2023.

Up-and-coming artists take center stage at LC art exhibit. Laredo College. June 12, 2023

Multimedia art exhibit showcasing local artists to debut at LC. LMT Online. June 3, 2023.

Between an Egg and A Wall, curated by Robert Long and presented by Arts Fort Worth. Collective exhibition featuring Maritza Bautista, Laredo, TX; Julie Libersat, Denton, TX; Laila Saber Rodriguez, Netherlands; David Anthony Sant, Sydney, Australia; Jiatong Yao, Dallas, TX. Curated by Robert Long. On view at Arts Fort Worth, Program Gallery until June 24, 2023.

Cartoneros (cardboard scavengers, 2022) received a Waste Award from the 14th Annual Environmental Film and Arts Festival, Cinema Verde. Now Playing. April 2023.

The documentary explores scavenging practices in Laredo, Texas, focusing on the informal transborder recycling on the U.S.-Mexico border. The focus is on a married couple who are cartoneros (cardboard scavengers). Chole and Jose cross the border daily to collect cardboard and then transport it into Mexico to sell. The film depicts the ongoing interdependence of the economies of Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo. It introduces audiences to two people who depend on scavenging practices that help both countries' economies and recycling efforts.

Produced and Directed by Maritza Bautista and Marcela Morán.

Read a story about it on LMT Online.

CTRL+X: Composed/desCompuestos Video Tour, narrated by Curator Maritza Bautista. Arts Fort Worth YouTube Channel, April 2023.

CTRL+X is the keyboard shortcut for “cut.” In this exhibit, CTRL+X represents artwork with a “rasquache,” or DIY aesthetic, common in border, Mexican-American or Chicano working-class communities. The artworks are composed of often scavenged materials and concepts taken from cultural representations of ordinary, everyday objects and people.

CTRL+X: Composed/desCompuestos featured Gil Rocha and Cande Aguilar (Barriopop) and was on view at Arts Fort Worth from March 3-April 30, 2023 in the Marlene & Spencer Hays Foundation Gallery.

Despite the Distance, Art Unites the 956. Trucha. Written by Josue Ramírez. March 2023.

Glasstire's Top 5: March 9, 2023 list. Ay Los Miro en el Other Side (See you all on the other side), exhibition curated by Maritza Bautista, made it to #4. Glasstire.

Glasstire's Top 5: March 2, 2023 list. CTRL+X: Composed/desCompuestos, exhibition curated by Maritza Bautista, made it to #1. Glasstire.

The New Streets of Laredo. Texas Monthly Online Story by Ryan Cantú. March 2023.

Excerpt from the article:

Maritza Bautista, another local artist who returned to Laredo after some time away in Chicago, is now the executive director of nonprofit arts organization Cultivarte. She told me about a newly planned five thousand square foot Cultivarte headquarters that will serve as Laredo’s first artist incubator, expected to open in early 2024.

The Faces of South Texas, Part 1. Glasstire. Written by William Serradet. February 20, 2023.

"We started our trip in Laredo, kicking it off with an extended evening chatting with local arts organizers Gil Rocha and Maritza Bautista. We took photos in Rocha’s studio, using props from his workspace, and walked down to the border entry, all the while talking about how Laredo contains a constant transience of foot traffic because of its proximity to the border. Over dinner, we discussed both Rocha’s and Bautista’s strategies for programming, their roles in multiple organizations across the region, and their longstanding commitment to art."

The Other Border Wall Podcast. Artist Talk for The Border is a Weapon, Moderated by Jose Diaz. January 14, 2023.

Expone Cultivarte Laredo en Galeria de Artes Visuales de TAMIU. El Mañana. October 16, 2022.

Create, Inspire, Transform Laredo. YouTube. Produced by Daphne Art Foundation. Video production and direction by Marco Gonzalez. Laredo, Texas. September 2022.

Synopsis: Some artists take their inspiration from our culture and city streets, some have achieved new heights in their artistic practice through programs like Cultivarte Laredo, and others—the younger and emerging—are inspired to transform the ideas they encounter into something larger; talents yet to be experienced.

Laredo artists, advocates, and community leaders recognize the impact that cultural opportunities and resources can have on our quality of life and local economy. Alexa Hernandez, Mauro Martinez, Juan De Dios Mora, Krista Quintanilla, and Gil Rocha give us insight into their journeys as artists.

Join the enthusiasts and patrons who are fueling the artists and creatives who continue to create, inspire, and transform Laredo.

www.daphneart.org

Local artists debuted exciting exhibit at LC. Laredo College. September 2022.

"Seven local talents, including Laredo College art faculty Lestat Alexander, Mary Bausman and Eva Soliz, showcased their art pieces along with local community artists Maritza Bautista, Emily Bayless, Erika Ordoñez and Ashley Tristán. Art media included ceramic, painting, mixed/digital media, mixed media and a spoken word performance."

Cartoneros (Cardboard Scavengers) screens at Señorita Cinema, Saturday Night Super Shorts at Aurora Picture Show. Super Shorts features a selection of new Latina-made short films from all over. Señorita Cinema. September 2022.

The documentary explores scavenging practices in Laredo, Texas, focusing on the informal transborder recycling on the U.S.-Mexico border. The focus is on a married couple who are cartoneros (cardboard scavengers). Chole and Jose cross the border daily to collect cardboard and then transport it into Mexico to sell. The film depicts the ongoing interdependence of the economies of Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo. It introduces audiences to two people who depend on scavenging practices that help both countries' economies and recycling efforts.

Produced and Directed by Maritza Bautista and Marcela Morán.

Never the Same: Cultivarte’s Transformation of Laredo, Texas. Glasstire. Written by Dr. Liz Kim. August 27, 2022.

Desde la Frontera, curated by Juan De Dios Mora, opens Saturday, August 13 at the Lonestar Art District Dock Space Annex. On view until August 31, 2022.

The Other Border Wall Podcast. Maritza Bautista, The Border is a Weapon. Season 3, Episode 2. August 2022.

You have 5 more days to experience “The Border is a Weapon” exhibit at the Laredo Center for the Arts. LareDOS [redux], A Journal of the Borderlands. August 16, 2022.

Reflexionan con la plastica en Centro de las Artes de Laredo. Abren la muestra ‘La Frontera es un Arma,’ a cargo del The Other Border Wall Collective. Exhibition curated by Gil Rocha. Presented by the Other Border Wall Collective. El Mañana de Nuevo Laredo. July 3, 2022.

Women Working on Border Topics: Intervention and Negotiation of the Creative Process featuring Maritza Bautista, Marcela Morán, and Other Border Wall Project.

Creating Justice Symposium 2022, A Festival of Arts and Social Justice. Sponsored by Humanities and Philosophy Department, Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies. Oakton Community College. Virtual from Des Plaines, Illinois. April 2022.

Casas de Cambio (Money Exchange Locations) and El Tren (The Train), poetry and spoken word video components. PASSAGE, an online magazine of visions and voices, Issue 8. Curated by Susie Kalil. April 2022.

Presenta Cultivarte exposición ‘Fluctuaciones Reflexivas.’ El organismo abre la muestra en la Galería de Artes Visuales Martha Fenstermaker Memorial con una amplia gama de obras. Exhibition curated by Maritza Bautista. Presented by Daphne Art Foundation.El Mañana de Nuevo Laredo. April 24, 2022.

Code-Switching: Ana Laura Hernández at the Laredo Center for the Arts. Glasstire. Review written by Maritza Bautista. Published March 2022.

Dead Edges and Open Wounds: Considering “The Border is a Weapon / Frontera es un Arma,” Curated by Gil Rocha. Glasstire. Written by Ricky Yanas. Review published March 30, 2022.

Texas artists explore weaponization of border in Pittsburgh exhibition. Trib Live. March 7, 2022.

El Tren (The Train). Original spoken word performance at Kirk Hopper Fine Art Gallery. Curated by Susie Kalil. Dallas, Texas. Texas Artists Share Gallery. January 2022.

El Tren (The Train) is a disruption intended for a gallery space. It is presented as sound, spoken word, and offerings of objects collected along the train tracks to audience and spectators. Each object delivers a piece from the text and the essence of the object from its original purpose.

Appearance. A Deserved Homecoming: César A. Martínez at the Laredo Center for the Arts. Glasstire. Review by Liz Kim. January 2022.

Across. Collective Exhibition at Urban Arts Center curated by José Villalobos, organized by MariconX, a cultural project of Arttitude. Dallas, Texas. November 2021.

Casas de Cambio (Money Exchange Locations), self-published zine which features poem with same title. Text and photos by Maritza Bautista. Laredo, Texas. 2019.

Appearance. Alumna’s film career focuses on border stories The Daily Texan by Cat Cardenas. April 2016.

New Doc on Labor of Immigrant Women. Her Film Project. July 2015.

Media Beyond the Mural: A Fine Artist’s Practice in Fuzz Magazine. Essay written by Maritza Bautista. Premiere Issue. November 2013.

Rumblers Summer Arts Camp. Learn about Rumblers Summer Arts Camp. Publication designed by Patsy Diaz, lead instructor. Chicago, 2013.

Published Art Ed essay, Unique Voices in Youth Media: Learning from Appalshop, in Culture as Commons: Social Justice and Contemporary Art Education, a book for art educators teaching in the PK-12 classroom and at the college level; edited by L. Hochtritt, T. Quinn and J. Ploof. Routledge. 2012.

20 Neighborhoods: An exhibition based on Chicago women's experiences and aspirations for their homes, families, neighborhoods, communities, and city. Woman Made Gallery. Chicago. 2012.

We chose “Self, Home, Community, and City,” as the theme of the project and the art workshops that are at its core, because we wanted the project to encompass the multiple places we inhabit as individuals, as well as create conditions for project participants to bond with other people and communities across Chicago. For a medium we decided on assemblage, focusing on found objects and personal possessions because these materials contain qualities that inspire conversation and the creation of symbolic content. And in seeking partners for our project, we looked for organizations that reflected diversity in geographic location, communities of people, and organizational mission and structure. (from the catalog)

Representing Humboldt Park

Community Counseling Centers of Chicago + Rumble Arts Center
Teaching Artist: Jeannette Perkal
Teaching Assistant: Maritza Bautista

Participating Artists:
Maricela Andraca
Isabel Cruz
Maria Mandujano
Lizzette Martinez

2010 Recipients of AFS Texas Filmmakers Production Fund to support the production of the documentary short Jornaleras. Story.

Jornaleras (2014) is an experimental documentary short that explores the stories of three working, immigrant women in New York; Rocio from Mexico, Carmen from Nicaragua, and Sandra from Honduras. The film explores the women's journeys post-crossing the border into the United States and gives unique insight into their personal experiences. Shot on location in New York, NY.

Jornaleros: Albany Park Workers' Center. YouTube. Directed and Produced by Jornaleros (Day Laborers) from the Albany Park Workers' Center in the Summer of 2009. Chicago, IL. October 2009.

Click on the link above to watch. Produced with the support from Latino Union of Chicago and Insight Arts. Facilitators and production assistants, Maritza Bautista (post-production) and Jhonathan F. Gómez.

Art and Film of The Workers is a collaborative event presented by the Latino Union of Chicago and Insight Arts.

The artwork and film on view was created by the Jornaleros (day laborers) at the Albany Park Workers' Center during a series of workshops facilitated by Insight Arts Artistic Associate Maritza Bautista, with the support of labor organizer Jhonathan. Workshops took place from April to July, 2009.

Insight Arts presents "Creatively Engaging in Social Movements: Critical and Meaningful Lenses on Im/Migration" on Saturday, June 27, 2009 from 6 to 8 PM at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Sharp Building, 37 S Wabash, Room 404). Admission is free and open to the public.

Panelists included local Chicago activists and artists including Father Claudio Holzer, Luis Juarez, Marcela Morán, Nicole Marroquin, Patricio Ordoñez and Juan R. Villalobos. Organized by Maritza Bautista.

The forum is a collaborative project presented by Insight Arts and the Latino Union of Chicago. It is co-sponsored by the Department of Art Education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Reaching Millions with Art: the NEA’s Support for Film, Television, and Radio. “Through New Eyes: Hecho en Encinal Brings Filmmaking to Rural Texas.” NEA Arts Vol. 1, p. 5. 2009.

Click the link above to read the story. Photo was taken during Hecho en Encinal's Rural Filmmakers Exchange program presented in partnership with Appalshop's Appalachian Media Institute. Whitesburg, Kentucky. 2007.

Insight Arts is proud to celebrate International Women's Month during a special Women Out Loud! featuring the Women of Insight Anita Alcantara, Celina Aguilar, Maritza Bautista, Lani T. Montreal, and Kaphira Palmer.

Women Out Loud!, the longest running women’s open-mic series for women and women-identified poets, writers, and spoken word performance artists. Open mic precedes the readings, and as always, men may applaud and cheer.

Center for New Possibilities, 1505 W. Morse Avenue. Chicago, Illinois. March 2009.

sound alternative space for contemporary art and aka collective present the 2nd annual experimental film festival, SEFF06.

short experimental films and videos by local, national and international artists will be screened. works vary in theme and style but ultimately all have experimental elements in them. screening will be experimental narratives, experimental non-narratives, animation and music videos. two films will be recognized: best of show & audience choice.

free and open to the public. donations are greatly appreciated and encouraged to keep the programming we do at sound going. refreshments will be served.

The following are the films screening and directors for SEFF06 (In no particular order):
Perception ’71, Jeffrey Castillo (Laredo, TX)
Sueño Postal, Marco Polo Fonseca (Nuevo Laredo, Tamps. Mexico)
In My Mind, Ana Solis (Laredo, TX)
Suburban Fantasies, Ross Morin (Athens, OH)
The Hunting, Daniel Barron Salazar (Nuevo Laredo, Tamps. Mexico)
Eniacoc and El Castigo, Dylan Altman (San Antonio, TX)
E-Zone, Juan Cordova (Laredo, TX)
The Grasp Hand & Walking Method, Murray and Megan McMillan (St. Louis, MO)
Mankind’s Odyssey, Vincent Moreno (Laredo, TX)
OAMP, Alex Rodriguez (Laredo, TX)
Room 101, Takuro Masuda (Atlanta, GA)
Untitled Plastic, Andres Santos (Laredo, TX)
Floods, Ghosts & Contamination, Mark & Katherine Izaguirre (Houston, TX)
My Idea and Cats During War, Gil Rocha (Laredo, TX)
Shadows of the Mind, Tommy Manrique (Laredo, TX)
Eugene and Me, Winston-Willam Calloway (Austin, TX)
Illuminated, Alejandra Villarreal (Laredo, TX)
Pandora’s Bike, Potter Belmar Labs (San Antonio, TX)
Q&A, Charles (Laredo, TX)
El Otro Lado, Ann Wallace (San Antonio, TX)
Sangre Sin Razon, David Crawford (Laredo, TX)
A Shift in Perception, Dan Monceaux (Adelaide, South Australia)
Second Hand Pepe, Vanessa Bertozzi and Hana Shell (Cambridge, MA)
Tick, Jesus Garcia & Ulysses Salinas (Laredo, TX)
Rain Bow, Rudy Zuñiga (Laredo, TX)

Festival Advisors:
Alex Rodriguez, Maritza Bautista, Sean Chadwell, and Donna Lednicky