Artist Statements as Colectiva: Informed by Lived Experiences and Anzaldúan Theories

As visual artists, our ability to explain process and convey meaning in our work is very important. Our BFA and MFA studio art programs trained us to write clear, concise, and universal artist statements. We were encouraged to highlight the concepts behind our visual work and discouraged from including our personal narratives or employing Chicane or Latine bodies of knowledge. In response, we apply theories and methodologies by Gloria Anzaldúa to our artist statements. First, we offer a framework of testimonio, Borderlands theory, and autohistoria-teoría. Using the methodology of nepantlando, a creative doing of existing in-between worlds, we outline our process for writing and visualizing our testimonios. As artists living in-between creative and scholarly spaces, on the borders of two nations and identities, we use our testimonios to share our liminal experiences. We urge art educators in K-12, community-based, and higher education to incorporate Latine and Chicane bodies of knowledge. By infusing our testimonios and lived experiences into our artist statements, we re-envision artist statement writing.