Artistories KXCI

In this episode, we hear from Bibi Harris, business owner, dancemaker, and binational teaching artist. Bibi begins by sharing her experience of leading the Voces Migrantes project in Nogales, SON, with a team comprised of her family and fellow artists of the region, including Yvonne Montoya, Ammi Robles, Aaliyah Rubio, and Gerardo Alfonso Mendez Gallardo. She speaks about her connection with the region and the people who cross the border, recalling the importance of always remembering where you come from. Bibi then takes us back and shares the roots of her career as a binational artist and the influence of growing up in an artistic Mexican household. She then shares what is moving her as a creative, and her new project centers on the stories of elders who live in Douglas, AZ, and Agua Prieta, SON.⁠
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To hear all this more, listen to the full-length podcast by clicking the link above! To listen to the mini, click below!

https://kxci.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Bibi-Harris-Artistories_mini_mixdown.mp3
Image Courtesy of the artist
Image Courtesy of the artist
Image Courtesy of the artist
Image Courtesy of the artist
 
More about Bibi:
Adriana Harris is a mother, choreographer, studio director, and business owner based in Douglas, AZ and Agua Prieta, SON. She was born and raised in Agua Prieta and began her dance career at 8 years old. At 18, she developed and presented her own repertoire of choreography under the guidance of Alma Dolores at the Alma Dolores International Dance Center. In 2011, Adriana opened BB Danceur Academy in Douglas, AZ where she currently resides and continues to present her work regionally, in Arizona and Sonora. Under her direction, BB Danceur Academy has received over 100 Platinum and Gold accolades at national competitions including 3 High Gold Awards for First Place Overall at the 2018 Hall of Fame Dance Challenge in Phoenix, AZ. Bibi is a recipient of a Project Creosote Grant from the

In this episode, Chezale Rodriguez leads a  conversation with Ashley Walden Davis, arts administrator, thought leader, and founder & executive director of Unlock Creative: Coaching & Management Solutions LLC. Ashley begins by discussing her connection to the Southwest and the program called Creative Flowers that connected her with Black women creatives in Tucson and Phoenix in 2020. She describes the period of leading the Arizona Creative Flowers cohort during the 2020 presidential election, a social uprising, and a global pandemic. 
Ashley then takes us back and shares the story that reveals the roots of her career as a creative and arts administrator. Then, she generously shares advice for anyone considering “taking a leap of faith” and points to consider as you set those plans in motion. Finally, Ashley drops some shoutouts to her influences and mentors and leaves us with what is “moving her” as she continues her work in the intersections of art, social justice, and building cultural and economic power for communities of color, especially black women creatives.
To hear all this more, listen to the full-length podcast by clicking the link above! To listen to the mini, click below!

https://kxci.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ashley-Walden-Davis-Mini_mixdown.mp3
 
Ashley Walden Davis is the Founder and Executive Director of Unlock Creative
 
Creative Flowers Black Pearlz Cohort, Fall 2020 (art work and image by Jordan Hood, CF Alum)
 
Episode Host: Chezale Rodriguez
Chezale Rodriguez, multifaceted teaching / performing artist and arts administrator

In this episode, we hear from Alex! Jimenez, Public Artist, Illustrator, Printmaker, and Mother. Alex begins by sharing a story about the exciting project that started through an initiative of the US Water Alliance and Tucson Water. As the selected artist for the Tucson Water team, Alex shares the goals of the project and how she decided to mitigate the “bad history” in South Tucson in relationship to water and the path to building trust. Sharing the historical context in which the project took place, Alex then gets into how her process led to collaborations with the community and Tucson artists to develop a library of monsoon storm sounds. She then shares her motivation for working in the intersections of art and science.
Alex takes us back to when she was pursuing a career as a veterinarian, and we learn how her career trajectory shifted to visual arts and the excitement of being awarded an artist grant as she completed a BFA degree in Illustration from the University of Arizona. Alex provides advice for emerging artists and emphasizes the importance of seeking grant funding to develop projects and the value of collaboration in her practice. Finally, she shares what is moving her in this moment and the big plans in store for the coming years as a public artist working in her home community of South Tucson.
Lear More about Alex’s residency here!
Additional audio provided by Alex Jimenez featuring collaborations with Logan Phillips, Cazo, Karima Walker, and Kevin Larkin.
 
To hear all this more, listen to the full-length podcast by clicking the link above! To listen to the mini, click below!

https://kxci.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Alex-Jimenez-Mini_mixdown.mp3
 
Alex Jimenez. Image courtesy of the artist.
The Talking Mural, 2017.  This mural has QR codes that you can scan to listen to short stories told by the business owners whose signs are featured on this mural. Image courtesy of the artist.
 
Our Pond, Our Planet, 2021. An editioned screenprint that plays with the idea of our shared water both on the micro level of an ecosystem but on the global level of our planet. The animals along the perimeter of the pond are natives of the Sonoran Desert. Image courtesy of

In this episode, we have a conversation with Natalie Brewster Nguyen – Artist, Activist, Educator, Founder, and Director of Splinter Collective. Natalie begins by sharing a story about how the Splinter Collective came to be and how they became the owner of a 90-year-old adobe warehouse built by the Ronstadt family. They reveal the building’s deep history in serving creatives in Tucson since the 1960s and how it’s activated on a weekly basis by artists and activists through poetry, drag, performance art, and more!
Then, Natalie discusses the roots of their artistic practice and the story of how they landed in Tucson all the way from Chicago. They later get into the power of working at the intersections of art and social justice, the joys of co-parenting as an artist, and the incredible community of creatives that is moving them at this moment.
To hear all this more, listen to the full-length podcast by clicking the link above! To listen to the mini, click below!
Follow Natalie and Splinter Collective on social media!
@nataliebrewsternguyen @splintercollective520
 

https://kxci.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Artistories_Natalie-Mini_mixdown.mp3
Natalie Brewster Nguyen. Image courtesy of the artist.
 
An image of Nat and their child from Love Letters Leave No Trace, a collaborative and ritual installation project spanning the last decade. Image courtesy of the artist.

Exist 2019: an image of Nat narrating a circus play they wrote about astronomy, mythology, and the history of women in astronomy. Image courtesy of the artist.
 

We are proud to present our first Spanish language episode of Artistories. To listen to an English-translated version of the podcast, click the link in our bio and locate the audio track on the bottom of the podcast description.
In this episode, Ammi Robles has a conversation with Tony Plak – Artist, muralista, community organizer, and co-founder of Nogaleria. Ammi begins the conversation by congratulating Tony and Nogaleria on their Project Creosote award. Tony shares about the grassroots organization and details about the community-driven project that will take place this year. Then he shares childhood memories of witnessing family members in creative professions such as architects and make-up artists and how he admired his grandfather’s exceptional drawing skills. We also hear about the first time Tony was exposed to the world of graffiti art and earning his degree in architecture at the University of Sonora and how that training prepared him for a career as a public artist. Later in the podcast, Tony shares his artistic influences, what moves him as an artist, and his best advice for emerging artists!
To hear all this more, listen to the full-length Spanish podcast by clicking the link above!
To listen to the English translated version, click below!

https://kxci.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/TonyPlak-English-Full-Podcast_mixdown-A.mp3

To listen to the mini podcast, click below!
https://kxci.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tony-Mini_mixdown.mp3

In this episode, Woods Fairchild, Arts Foundation Public Art Project Manager, has a conversation with Jessica Gonzales, Muralist, Painter, and Designer. Woods begins with a big congratulations to Jessica and Rock Martinez for their new public art commission for the Rillito Wash Flood Control Mural Project. After the first public announcement for this commission is made, Jessica expresses the “surreal” feeling when reflecting upon this new opportunity considering the expansiveness of the project. She shares her excitement for the collaboration with Rock and her views on the possibilities and brainpower of working alongside fellow artists. Raised among a family of creatives, Jessica describes how deeply she has been influenced by family, especially her mother, a trained commercial artist, graphic designer, and pastel artist. She takes us back to her childhood in Germany and how she navigates her multicultural upbringing while continuing to learn about her family roots, a source of inspiration in her personal and public artwork.
Jessica then speaks to the moments that launched her into the world of public art, which began with an invitation to paint in front of a live audience to the music of local hip-hop artists. Jessica also reveals how and when creative ideas come to her and even shares her favorite mural in Tucson!
To listen all this more, listen to the full-length podcast by clicking the link above! To listen to the mini, click below!

https://kxci.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jessica-Gonzales-Mini_mixdown.mp3
 

Quetzalcoatl Gila Dragon for Amazing Discoveries in Tucson, 2021. Photo courtesy of the artist.
 
The Loft Cinema in Tucson, 2020 – originally designed for Loft Film Festival in 2019. Photo courtesy of the artist.
 
Woven Bonds We’ve Grown Upon, Sahuarita, 2021 – acrylic on recycled street signs. Photo courtesy of the artist.