Today we’d like to introduce you to Pablo Cruz-Ayala.
Hi Pablo, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I explore the intersections between my Mexican/American heritage, my status as an undocumented immigrant, and my relationships in community and land through visual art. I’ve been driving to forge a split passion between community health and art since elementary when I was first exposed to the wellness center artist in residency program at the Hunstman Cancer Institute during my mother’s batter with lymphoma.
The actions of sitting with my mother and using our hands to knit, draw, and paint we found comforts that I was unable to comprehend at the time, but have lasted with me throughout my life. This experience has led me to pursue a dual education in Biomedical Engineering and Painting at the University of Utah, where I am finishing my bachelor’s degree and where I hope to pursue my medical degree in the coming years. My life has been saturated with mentors and educators who saw past my socioeconomic and citizenship status to help me pursue both art and stem. These experiences have flourished into current research projects that bring light to how impactful visual art can be to our physiological experiences through gallery spaces.
Some of the greatest honors I’ve had are contributing to my undocumented community through my positions on the community board program with Artes De Mexico en Utah and the UMFA. I’ve dedicated the past few years to nurturing and strengthening professional art and stem development organizations off and on campus, targeting those with similar barriers I’ve experienced through my undocumented status. This coming July and October, I’ll be the Artist in Residence at the Leonardo Museum, working with k-12 education groups and community participants to explore more culturally enriching mediums like yarn painting and woodblock watercolor prints. Focusing on how art can tell our own stories and shine a sense of respect and connection is something I have felt firsthand to change the lives of my community members.
It enriches my work every day and I am honored to create works that honor and visualize the stories that have been marginalized and neglected. I know art is a bridge of communication that knows no language barrier, a comfort for the ill, the lonely, and the forgotten. I hope to continue my research as I pave the foundations for those who see the value in intersectional art and stem work as I’ve gained from others in this limited field.
I explore the long-lasting impacts of the Spanish colonization of Mexico in my latest series of la Malinche. I am personifying the Latin American cultural identity to deconstruct culture’s complex and sometimes paradoxical nature after erasure. I enjoy connecting visual elements from remaining artifacts of Pre-Colombian Indigenous South American cultures to reinterpret contemporary Western art/cultural standards. The Popol Vuh and Latin American codexes heavily influence the subject, surface treatment, and pattern applications through my works and give me material to recontextualize classical art themes of power and authority.
This series allows me to expand on my identity and walk through internal conflicts as an immigrant in Utah. I hope to add to the discussion of sharing challenges concerning coming to terms with intersectional cultural identities as an immigrant who yearns for a lost connection to heritage in a Western-centric country. My artwork integrates multi-media portraiture framed by naturalistic environments that create a story with the South American themes of magic realism in the forms of pre-Raphaelite historical paintings with indigenous utilitarian textiles and patterns.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As a first-generation artist, student, and American I’ve found that my undocumented status has brought a vivid array of challenges that I’ve had to overcome.
I’ve always had the help of incredibly kind and generous educators and mentors who’ve supported my path where my citizen status or my incredibly hardworking parents could not. Hand me down oils and art supplies would give me both the sense of endearment to create and the joy of seeing my art not limited by cost. I’ve managed to use my art to overcome many financial barriers in one way or another. A great lesson in perseverance was being named the 2019 Visual Arts Sterling Scholars Award which provided a substantial portion of my tuition cost to attend the University of Utah.
But after a semester into my freshman year, a three-sentence email informed me that due to an oversight, I was not eligible for the award based on my citizenship. I was able to pick myself up and learn the importance of advocating that one belongs along with the power of networking. After tedious and laborious efforts I again had a full ride for the rest of my undergraduate career through miscellaneous private scholarships. And this would become the trend for many incredible opportunities to slip through my hands.
Art fellowships, artist residencies, and academic internships were limited to those without background checks and null compensation. I had to forgo an offer to be the artist in residence at my dream Huntsman Cancer Institute due to my status. With the help of their incredible wellness director, Shelley White, I was able to contribute to the program, but in a far more diminished caliber. But I always keep my mindset that these factors do not have to stratify my future capabilities and I know that one day my status will not matter. It is for these experiences that I dedicate my work to creating opportunities for those who have felt it impossible.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I explore the intersections between my Mexican/American heritage, my status as an undocumented immigrant, and my relationships in community and land through the medium of visual art. I explore the long-lasting impacts of the Spanish colonization of Mexico in my latest series of la Malinche. I am personifying the Latin American cultural identity to deconstruct culture’s complex and sometimes paradoxical nature after erasure. I enjoy connecting visual elements from remaining artifacts of Pre-Colombian Indigenous South American cultures to reinterpret contemporary Western art/cultural standards.
The Popol Vuh and Latin American codexes heavily influence the subject, surface treatment, and pattern applications through my works and give me material to recontextualize classical art themes of power and authority. This series allows me to expand on my identity and walk-through internal conflicts as an immigrant in the Utah landscape. I hope to add to the discussion of sharing challenges concerning coming to terms with intersectional cultural identities as an immigrant with a yearning for a lost connection to heritage in a Western-centric country.
My artwork integrates multi-media portraiture framed by naturalistic environments that create a story with the South American themes of magic realism in the forms of pre-Raphaelite historical paintings with indigenous utilitarian textiles and patterns. I am proud of creating a space to honor and validate the experiences of marginalized stories like my mothers.
What’s next?
I currently have no changes to the path I have set on since elementary. I will continue to push forward regardless of my citizenship status and forge more opportunities for myself and other undocumented immigrants in Utah.
I hope to be accepted into medical school within the coming year and to gleam more experience in pediatric research and art here at the University of Utah.
Contact Info:
- Email: pablo6cruz@gmail.com
- Website: https://pabloayalaart.myportfolio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pabloc_art_/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablo-ayala-633842236/
