Today we’d like to introduce you to Adriana Arriaga.
Hi Adriana, 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?
In high school, I was recovering from an eating disorder and during that recovery, I took a look at the different things that were affecting the way I saw myself. One of them was my consumption of media, specifically magazines. I learned about the different ways magazines and advertisements used photoshop to exaggerate and distort a woman’s body, and I wanted to know who was responsible for this and I came across the term “Graphic Designer”. From then on, I dedicated myself to graphic design. Since the very beginning of my design journey, ethics in design has been the foundation of my work.
I started off wanting to work in advertising but as I continued college, I began to take Ethnic Studies courses and learned a history that was not taught to me growing up. I started to think about how I could intertwine these two disciplines (Design and Ethnic Studies) and continued that work during my undergrad and graduate program.
During my graduate program, my thesis focused on Graphic Design through a Xicana lens; and that is where “adriana la artista” was born. What I do is I combine practices from the Chicano Movement of the 60’s with present-day applications to create and share my work. A lot of my work is about my personal experience as a first-generation Xicana. But I also make posters that bring awareness to the different issues happening in the community. I hand out posters at protests & community events, I’ve been invited to do artist talks and workshops, I’ve been featured in exhibitions and publications, and have made public art; but all my work centers around building relationships with others. And that is what my thesis was about, to show how the contemporary Xicana poster is used to build community.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Since I started art/design a little later than most, I was lacking skills and I had to work harder in the beginning to catch up with my peers. I was shamed by others for my career choice and felt some anxiety about what the future could look like for me, but I knew I had to do this. Not only for me but for people who needed to find a connection.
As a Xicana, I felt that I had to defend my work to people and also my identity. Oftentimes I was in these spaces alone. But I did have people supporting me too. They were able to guide me and let me experiment with my work in the ways I needed to. These were professors and friends close to me.
Eventually, I came to a point in my journey where I felt that I found what I needed to do. And from this feeling, I created my self-portrait, “Bless you”, where I am dressed as a modern-day Virgen de Guadalupe. It was my way of telling the world how I see myself, and how I want other artists to see themselves too.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I call myself an Artist/Designer/Activist. I specialize in Xicana Graphic design, specifically posters and illustrations. I am known for my self-portraits that use religious motifs to talk about my experience growing up with the pressures of being a “good girl”. I like to think my posters are an extension of myself. There’s a side of me that feels vulnerable and can share my experience growing up, or a part of me that needs to talk about the social issues happening now. But at the same time, I also like to show my personality and I’ll share my sense of humor through my work.
I am proud that I have been able to position myself in my community where I can help others, make decisions and lead. I have built relationships with others and work with them to make sure our art is being seen and respected. To let people know we are here, and we are not going to make ourselves small to make others feel comfortable.
What matters most to you? Why?
Relationships and building trust with people. With letting ourselves be vulnerable and real, we can make art that means something to us. Art that helps people think what a better future can look like and take action to work towards that future.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://adrianalaartista.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrianalaartista/
- Other: https://adrianalaartista.threadless.com/
Image Credits
Adriana Arriaga for all photos
