For artists, finding a voice through art is about turning personal experiences into universal feelings, according to Lupe Mendez, a 2022-23 Texas poet laureate, educator and activist. And the expression of those feelings can have far-reaching impacts, he added.
“All of a sudden, It’s people seeing themselves in the art,” Mendez said Wednesday at a Texas Tribune event in El Paso. “That’s part of that messaging that goes to our county, or state, or regional, or national leaders, is [for them] to be able to see themselves in the art that’s being created. I mean, hell, George Bush started painting!”
Mendez joined two other panelists — art nonprofit director Stephen Ingle and El Paso artist Camila Abbud for a discussion on art and democracy, part of The Texas Tribune’s yearlong “We The Texans” initiative examining the state of democracy in Texas. Held at the El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA), the panel was moderated by Matt Ewalt, senior director of events and live journalism at The Texas Tribune.
The panelists discussed why they are inspired to do the work they do and how they see their role in driving dialogue, activism and change.
“Artists have always been somebody that records what’s happening at the moment, that brings subject matter to relevance, and captures history.” said Ingle, the creative director and co-founder of Creative Kids, a nonprofit art education agency.
Ingle has spent the past 25 years instructing children’s art classes in El Paso. The skill of thinking independently, he said, is one of many skills that art can teach children and adults alike.
“You might love my work or hate my work, but if any of those emotions happen we started a conversation within you.” Ingle said. “I think that’s what art does, provides a voice to something you might not agree with, as well as something you kind of want to think about and come to your own conclusion [on].”
Abbud, a featured artist of the El Paso Museum of Art’s 2024 Border Biennial exhibit, talked about the impact of public art on her community. Growing up in the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez region, the work of muralist duo LxsDos has stuck with her, she said.
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“I think they truly represent the people from here. When I was little, I would see their murals in El Paso or in Juarez, and I would look up to them.” Abbud said. “It felt really special, especially because murals have that public art impact, right, they’re huge and they’re innately for the people that cross it.”
Panelists emphasized the importance of prioritizing art in Texas communities to help foster more creative thinking and problem solving. And they issued a challenge to those in the audience looking to support artistic opportunities: show up to art events and challenge school districts that underfund arts programs.
“Go to kids’ arts shows. Go to symphonies. Go to, if they’re playing recitals, go to those.” Mendez said. “Support the arts as much and in as many ways as you can.”
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