Margarita Cabrera

Saludos and greeting friends!
I am honored to share snippets of a small selection of interviews that we have been working on for the Árbol de la Vida : Memorias y Voces de la Tierra for this year’s World Heritage Festival in San Antonio.
There are many amazing and talented community members that helped create the Árbol de la Vida public art project which is situated along Yanaguana—the San Antonio River by Mission San Fransisco de la Espada. Many thanks to the San Antonio River Foundation for commissioning the Árbol and the World Heritage festival for helping to share our stories! Hope you will check out the inspirations behind each ceramic sculpture and join us in celebration of our shard history. Included in these interviews filmed by the amazing are Jaine Garza, Talia Govea, Joe Rivera, Dr. Ellen Riojas Clark, Lucy Vázquez Springs, and Renee Harris. The World Heritage Festival will have online and in-person events from September 8th to September 12th. Visit their website which is linked in their bio under 6th Annual World Heritage Festival. Enjoy and stay tuned for more Arbol de la Vida stories to come in the near future! -stories

Two years ago a man claimed “Hispanic Invasion of Texas” shot and killed 23 people at a Walmart in my hometown of El Paso. Politicians and media blame this action on mental illness, violent gaming doing away with truth and responsibility—This was an act of white supremacist terrorism. May we all continue calling to action against systematic violence, racism, and xenophobia. UPLIFT: NI UNX MÁS

THE HIGH-LINE PLINTH
2nd PHASE!!!!
On behalf of hundreds of participating immigrant communities from both side of the US/ MX border who for years worked to shape UPLIFT believing in the transformative power of art, I want to thank the High Line team for this recognition and opportunity. So grateful to all who responded in support the UPLIFT project putting us into the second phase of the selection process. UPLIFT NY maquette will soon be exhibited for public viewing along with 11 phenomenal art works for a final HighLine selection in NYC. If selected as one of top two proposals for fabrication, UPLIFT NY will offer a collaborative public art process introducing dialogues and workshops to produce bird-wing designs centering the experiences, challenges, and sacrifices facing our immigrant communities challenged by systemic violence. UPLIFT NY will represent the plight and migration of NYC’s hard working diverse communities who have historically contributed meaningfully to the strength of the city. As a truly collective process , UPLIFT NY will align with organizations serving our immigrant communities, gun control groups, anti-violence initiatives, and art organizations working with social justice efforts. Collectively, UPLIFT NY will transform elements of violence into elements of hope by repurposing gun fragments as part of the timely sculpture design.
I am humbled beyond words to have made it this far. Thank you so much for this opportunity on behalf of myself and the UPLIFT community. NY. cultures spirits BIPOC

Saludos! Friends, I am honored to be in the pool with such talented artists and share my proposal for this year’s NY HighLine Plinth Project. The Donald R. Mullen Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art, Cecilia Alemani and NY Plinth project team are asking for public comments on the proposals submitted. I hope you will take the time to share your thoughts on my proposal —Your feedback means a lot! Share your comments here:
https://www.thehighline.org/art/projects/margarita-cabrera/

UPLIFT NEW YORK
We know the power of guns, is a power defined through fear, intimidation, injury and death. By integrating fragments of confiscated guns donated by our local sheriff Department , the UPLIFT sculpture opposes these elements with courage, honor, healing, and life,elements that we find when we work as a creative,artful, and wholesome community. UPLIFT works with the belief that we have the creative power to change a culture of violence into a community of hope.
UPLIFT New York is a metal sculpture that represents a flock of birds at the moment when they begin to take flight. As they lift off, the birds experience pushing and pulling forces, aggression, competition, violence, strength, and desire as they so strongly long for flight and thus freedom. UPLIFT’s theme springs from the violent realities facing many American communities.
Hundreds of community members participated in an artistic dialogue/workshop centered around our border’s violent histories. These artistic encounters produced 300 cultural symbol designs using Papel Picado, a Mexican craft tradition subsequently transferred onto the wings of 600 white metal birds bearing welded fragments of actual guns confiscated and donated by the local Sheriff. Recent history of gun violence in the US demonstrates the urgency of UPLIFT’s cultural artistic dialogue and transformative processes.

I propose UPLIFT NY as a temporary artistic monument, intersectional social justice movement that uplifts and empowers its immigrant communities, people of color, indigenous, disabled, q***r, and gender nonconforming folks. Partnering with NYC diverse communities. Continue reading in comments.....

Friends,

Please consider donating to and her family. They are Cuban artists / educators, and have their only child in a detention processing center in El Paso, TX.
He has been incarcerated for 14 months and has a vulnerable medical condition. They are asking for help and need funds urgently to obtain legal representation from an immigration lawyer.

They have sold every painting they have in their possession and have reached out to the art community—all of us who can help.

To all supporting the —and other artistic efforts servicing communities in detention, please take a moment to push this call of action.

If you are able, please donate and share this post.

https://elpasomatters.org/2020/07/04/skywriting-instead-of-fireworks-artist-coalition-uses-messages-in-the-clouds-as-political-art/ .Juarez

This 4th of July weekend we celebrate an anti-racist America
El Paso And Cd. Juarez LOOK UP before 10am

LOOK UP TODAY..
Message will do a circle around Ponder Park near Burges High School

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/04/887129552/with-fleets-of-planes-artists-take-to-skies-nationwide-to-protest-mass-detention

El Paso / Cd Juarez look up today

THE POWER OF PUBLIC ART IS IN THE COMMUNITY AND THE DIALOGUE IT INVOKES TO INSPIRE CHANGE

How Plant and Animal Life on the US–Mexico Border Offer a Powerful Metaphor for Artist Margarita Cabrera The Mexican-born, El Paso-based artist focuses on the environmental and human impact of the crisis at the southern border.

Show Up: Margarita Cabrera | A loose thread might be considered an error, a nuisance, or a sign of things left unfinished. To artist Margarita Cabrera, loose threads are "a reference to the labor and the importance in the ac

Thank you GLASSTIRE for writing this great article!

I am proud to see how our Árbol de la Vida Community Project has empowered San Antonio to celebrate diversity and proudly acknowledge the many shared histories that make it a truly magical place.

Thank you San Antonio for believing we could do something extraordinary!

Margarita Cabrera Unveils Monumental Public Sculpture in San Antonio | Glasstire On May 17, Margarita Cabrera’s major new public artwork titled Árbol de la Vida: Memorias y Voces de la Tierra was officially unveiled to the public at San Antonio’s Mission Espada Portal.…

Incredibly grateful to our religious leaders who circled around our Árbol, chanted, prayed and shared their gifts with the ARbol community. They came representing various denominations to bless our Árbol de la Vida, our collaborative efforts as we creatively search for truth, meaning and spiritual growth.

Father Nick Baxter from Mission San Francisco de la Espada—Ramon Vazquez y Sanchez Tribal Chief of the Auteca Paguame representing the Tap Pilam Cuahuiltecan Nation—Tek Suleyman with Interfaith Dialogue and Rain Drop Foundation of San Antonio—Epifanio and Gloria Hernandez, Roy and Lupe Guerrero and Mary Anne Garcia from the Tehran band of Mission Indians —Vanessa Quezada and Gerardo Marin from Peace and Justice Center—Rabbi Benjamin Richards representing the congregation of Agudas Achim—pastor Gavin Rogers from Travis Park United Methodists Church.

Thank you Penny de la Cruz for this news : https://www.ksat.com/news/tree-of-life-sculpture-unveils-san-antonios-rich-history

'Tree of Life' sculpture unveils San Antonio's rich history A new piece of art was unveiled in San Antonio on Thursday with the goal of showing the rich heritage of the city one story at a time. 

We did it!!!!
Hope you will join me and the Árbol de la Vida Community on the 1st Day of the Public Opening this Friday.
Cheers to all —Here is to the arts and what they can do in the community!

Thank you San Antonio !!!!

Grateful to THE NEW YORK TIMES for exposing our work to new audiences. Honored to be included in this powerful exhibition. Thank you Patricia Nunez RuizHealy and Talley Dunn Gallery for this highlight

New York Art Galleries: What to See Right Now Lucian Freud’s nudes from the 1990s and 2000s; a Gretchen Bender retrospective revisits her TV-based installations; and artists address social justice issues in “Perilous Bodies.”

Arbol de la Vida FIESTA MEDALS NOW available!

Add them to your collection for only $10.
Visit Lucy Springs booth at SA Local Market this April 19th at the Historic Pearl Stable and buy your Arbol De la Vida Medal from 10am to 6pm. Booth will be UPSTAIRS

All proceeds will fund a Digital APP for our Arbol de la Vida Public Art project. The ADLV APP will allow us to share information about the project, photographs of the sculptures and process, and the inspirational stories behind every participant's sculpture!

Don't miss Arbol de la Vida FIESTA MEDALS NOW available!

Add them to your collection for only $10

All proceeds will fund a Digital APP for our Arbol de la Vida Public Art project. The ADLV APP will allow us to share information about the project, photographs of the sculptures and process, and the inspirational stories behind every participant's sculpture!

Shipping is available with in the US through USPS just place the order through Paypal. To order click link below:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=SD5ZFDKE7P83A

I am most honored to be getting this amazing recognition joining past recipients who I have admired and respect. Muchas, muchas gracias to ArtLeagueHouston for selecting me an all who were in support of my nomination. I am going to received this award with so much joy and will do so on behalf of every individual and all the communities that have collaborated with me and that continue to inspire my work. I am grateful to all who have tirelessly supported the success of our community projects over the years. Thank you to all art, cultural, and academic institutions who have your doors and hearts to our artistic dialogue, to my supporting galleries Talley Dunn Gallery and Ruiz-Healy Gallery, Nidia Holguin- my studio manager for all of your hard work over the years, to my wonderful family for all of their continued support, and to my son’s Mateo and Alex for inspiring me to be honorable of others and for giving me hope and strength—Muchas Gracias!!!




https://mailchi.mp/artl…/2019-texas-artist-of-the-year-award

The discovery of my personal connection to the history of San Antonio through the Árbol de la Vida project has been amazing and a very grounding experience! Thank you Norma Martinez for a great story covering this and shedding light on the heart and strength of this project which is in the community who came together to make it a success! Have a listen!

San Antonio Stories Blossom With Árbol De La Vida Public art is typically defined as artwork that enhances public spaces. But what happens when you involve the public in the creation of public art? That’s

Arbol de la Vida FIESTA MEDALS are NOW available!

Fiesta "Arbol de la Vida" medals will be available for sale. Add them to your collection for only $10

All proceeds will fund a Digital APP for our Arbol de la Vida Public Art project. The ADLV APP will allow us to share information about the project, photographs of the sculptures and process, and the inspirational stories behind every participant's sculpture!

Shipping is available with in the US through USPS just place the order through Paypal. Cost calculated separately. To order click here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=SD5ZFDKE7P83A

“In Cabrera’s voluminous version, the tree becomes a repository for the stories of the city’s residents—landowner and ranch hand, citizen and noncitizen, people of every race and culture.”

True diversity and inclusivity are central concerns of the Árbol de la Vida public art project. Thank you Michael Agresta for capturing this essence and other important points for Texas Monthly audiences (link below).

Margarita Cabrera’s Monumental ‘Arbol de la Vida’ Grows in San Antonio The artist's collaborative creation, like her other work, is deeply rooted in the communities she works with.

'Arbol' public art project will coax visitors to Mission Espada It took two years to conceive, produce and install, and at every step, it was deliberately, even arduously inclusive.

Thank you Matthew Bourbon for crafting this review—honored and share this highlight with all who are represented in the work and those who make it possible.

"Political art can be didactic to a fault. Margarita Cabrera’s exhibition “It Is Impossible to Cover the Sun with a Finger” overtly expresses the artist’s indignation about societal ills but avoids the pitfalls and limitations of art made solely as agitprop."

Artforum.com The online edition of Artforum International Magazine.

Es imposible Tapar el Sol con un Dedo: An Interview With Margarita Cabrera | Glasstire The Dallas Contemporary has a history of bringing the work of various cultures to Dallas and, in this case, the work of Margarita Cabrera could hardly be more poignant. While…

It's now easier to sign up for Margarita Cabrera's updates.

Hope to see you at Blue Star's First Friday, August 3 from 6pm to 9pm.
I will be there along with the San Antonio River Foundation showcasing the Arbol de la Vida project. Come and hear about our progress and see samples pieces.

https://bluestarcontemporary.org/calendar-events/august-first-friday-2/

August First Friday - Blue Star Contemporary Bring your friends and family to enjoy our exhibitions for FREE every First Friday! While down here you can check out all of the other happenings in the Blue Star Arts Complex and grab some dinner.

ARBOL DE LA VIDA MEDAL WINNERS
Gayle Spencer, Araceli Arroyo, Carmina Burana, Brenda Mark, Mari Kypuros

Last week we drew the names of five lucky Medal Winners from the pool of all who shared our initial post. Congratulations to all of you!!!!
Please come down to the studio to get your medals.

We are still offering our Medals for the Arbol de la Vida.
Be sure to get yours!

All proceeds will help fund the ADLV digital APP that will have all the interpretive materials - photos/stories/videos - of the making process.

Click here yo order yours
https://www.paypal.com/webapps/shoppingcart?flowlogging_id=78de8c748610f&mfid=1524932328089_78de8c748610f

The Arbol de la Vida : Voces de la Tierra FIESTA MEDALS are available!

THE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND COMMEMORATING OUR SHARED HISTORY

All proceeds will fund a Digital APP for our Arbol de la Vida Public Art project. The ADLV APP will allow us to share information about the project, photographs of the sculptures and process, and the inspirational stories behind every participant's sculpture!

700 People 700 Stories 700 Sculptures - ONE COLLECTIVE NARRATIVE!

Fiesta "Arbol de la Vida : Voces de la Tierra" medals will be available for sale at Mercury Project- Add them to your collection for only $10 (All forms of payments accepted) starting April 11 - Monday to Friday 12- 2pm.

Shipping is available with in the US through USPS just place the order through Paypal. Cost calculated separately. To order click here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=SD5ZFDKE7P83A

Mercury Projects is located at 538 Roosevelt Ave. - Parking on Yellowstone

BE INCLUDED IN THE DRAWING OF FIVE MEDALS on 4/22 BY LIKING AND SHARING THIS POST!