September 23-October 14, 2022
Student Gallery, Arts & Technology, Room 1905
Gainesville campus | University of North Georgia
Open Monday-Thursday 8 am - 9 pm
Fridays 8 am-5 pm | Closed weekends
Juror: Wendy Medrano, Artist and Educator
Reception and Awards Ceremony
Friday, October 14, 2022, 4-6 pm
Everyone welcome
Campus address: 3820 Mundy Mill Rd, Oakwood, GA 30566
Gainesville campus map | Arts & Technology is building #21
- Preface -
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States between September 15 and October 15 each year, to recognize the contributions made by Americans of Latin American and Spanish descent to the country. Hispanic heritage may be defined as a unique, living culture drawn from Latin American cultures and built in the United States, through a process where the historical actors actively create cultural expressions which express their relationship with the past, the present, and the future.
The Department of Visual Arts and the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs first partnered in 2021 to create an artistic celebration for Hispanic Heritage Month. The first exhibition was held on the Dahlonega campus and drew sixteen participants. In 2022, our Call for Entries was even more successful, attracting twenty-three student participants. Under the leadership of Kyle Murphy, the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs has generously funded this event, while the curatorial and organizational efforts were led by Dr. Ana Pozzi Harris, Senior Lecturer in Art History. Our shared goal is to offer Hispanic students a voice through art, where they may explore and communicate their unique cultural experiences.
This year, we are honored to have Ms. Wendy Medrano as our exhibition judge. Medrano is an outstanding artist and art educator. She graduated from the University of North Georgia in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Art Education and she is currently Art Teacher at Gainesville High School. She works closely with the Hispanic Alliance of Georgia (La Alianza) as part of the NE Latino Artist Coalition, participating in events that advance the opportunities of Latino artists in the Northeast Georgia area.
The 2022 exhibition is taking place on the Gainesville campus. It is also the first student event held at the new Student Gallery, located at the Arts & Technology building. The movable walls in the gallery were designed and built during summer 2022 by Department of Visual Arts faculty and staff. This space is intended for students to explore curatorial and exhibition pursuits outside of the classroom.
2022 also marks the sesquicentennial year of the University of North Georgia, and this exhibition is listed among the programs that honor this important milestone. Hispanic students currently count for 15% of the student population at UNG. It is thus fitting that their presence be inscribed in the university’s history, and that it be acknowledged in its present and for its future.
Enjoy the exhibition, tell your friends about it, and return next year!
Ana Pozzi Harris, Ph.D., Department of Visual Arts
Kyle Murphy, Associate Director of Multicultural Student Affairs
- Special thanks to -
Jennifer Graff, Head, Department of Visual Arts
Dr. Benjamin Schoening, Head, Music Department
Wendy Medrano, Exhibition Judge
Haley Huebner, Visual Arts Operations Specialist
Tiffany Prater, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design
Our students, who kindly shared their artwork for our enjoyment
- 2022 Hispanic Heritage Month
Student Art Exhibition -
This exhibition honors Hispanic students at UNG and their original Latin American cultures. Represented here are students who reside in the United States but whose cultural heritages are linked to Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago. Their artworks address subjects important to Hispanics and Latinos living in the United States. Among them are the continued importance of family bonds and traditional celebrations; the syncretic ancestry of Mesoamerican, indigenous, and Christian beliefs; as well as delight in music and dance to celebrate all occasions. Other themes are nostalgia for a distant past and a distant place; being neither here nor there; being pulled by the expectations of two cultures; pride in multiculturalism; and awareness of discrimination. Students who are not Hispanic have explored their connection to the culture through color and music.
The complex and varied artworks in this exhibition evidence the multifaceted experiences lived by these young artists. Their works move us with their honesty and directness. They communicate pride tempered by quiet reflection, questioning who we are and why we are here.
Ana Pozzi Harris, Ph.D.
Department of Visual Arts
University of North Georgia
Exhibition Checklist
Mikey Avila
Culturas Unidas
Graphic Design Poster
5400 x 7200 px
2022
Nam-Suny Bolles
Cantun
Acrylic on foam
14" H x 8" W
2022
Roxanne De la Rosa
Ancestors
Watercolor and acrylic on
paper
11 x 15 in.
2022
Julian Díaz
La Quinceañera de Diana
Álvarez
22 x 28 in.
Oil on canvas
2022
Regan Ferreira
Still Connected (Pawpaw)
Ceramic
4.5" H x 14” W x 11" D
2022
Esmeralda Michelle Figueroa
Florenciendo
Black India ink, magazine,
alcohol-based markers,
colored pencils, watercolor,
white gel pen, on paper
15.5 x 22 in.
2022
Phia Gomez
Silenced
Acrylic on Bristol
9 x 12 in.
2022
Stephanie Leyva
Vestido Folklórico Mexicano
Embroidered cloth with
crocheted borders
17 x 14 in.
2022
Ivette Matta
Serene
Acrylic on canvas board
9 x 11 in.
2020
Sophia Meneses
Why so blue?
Chalk pastel on paper
24 x 18 in.
2021
Susana Olivo Sandoval
Moroleon, Gto.
Pen and ink on paper with
watercolor
15.5 x 12.5 in.
2019
Victoria Ordoñez
¡Es hora de bailar!
Digital illustration
1500 x 1100 px
2022
Nancy Pacheco
El Rey
Charcoal on paper
16 x 20 in.
2022
Elizabeth Padilla Brun
The Colors Beneath
Color pencil and alcohol
markers
on drawing paper
9 x 12 in.
2022
Michelle Perry
La Familia Arroyo
Oil pastels
16 x 20 in.
2022
Brady Portillo
Expedition
Acrylic on masonite
board
3.25 x 2.5 ft.
2020
Kayleigh Riker
Where we come from
Acrylic, metallic flecks,
and gloss varnish
48 x 24 in.
2022
Maria-Paola Russi
El Viejito
Acrylic on canvas
24 x 30 in.
2022
Amihan Spence
MOTOMAMI
Digital illustration
11 x 14 in
2022
Evelyn Tello-Mendoza
Family Wealth
8 x 11 in.
Photograph
2022
Mirna Turcios-Galvez
Difference
Pencil and ink on paper
9 x 11 in.
2021
Danny Valencia
Polarization
9 x 12 in
Acrylic on canvas
2021
Natalia Velez Carrero
Ancestros Taíno: El
Borinquen
Ceramic
28” H x 8” W x 3” D
2021