THE GALLERY AT THE SHUDIO | JULY 14th -August 27th
Zarai Zaragoza is a born and raised artist from the heart of Chicago. Her art is influenced by the colors, murals, and Mexican-American culture of the Chicago Pilsen Neighborhood where she grew up. Her art focuses on the multifaceted stories of Latino communities. By employing techniques of silk screen printing, acrylic painting, and other mixed media art, color, texture, and line/pattern are manipulated to communicate, not only her story, but the many complex experiences felt by her community. Aware of immigration and immigration issues, knowing the fear and the complexity that is intertwined into each experience, she pushes her art forward to make people feel and relate, opening up spaces for conversation around the exploration of one’s own relationship to culture, identity, and emotional and mental responses to anxiety among other overwhelming experiences. She studied Studio Art and Education Studies at Middlebury College, was a Visual Arts Teacher at Noble Network of Charter Schools for 5 years, and currently serves as a Bilingual Program Coordinator for a non-profit organization called SitStayRead.
