From a feminine perspective

The “Mujer-Eres: Raíces” exhibition, a celebration of women’s artistic expression, marked its 10th anniversary with a homecoming March 8 at the San Benito Cultural Center.

 Sam Rawls and Cecilia Sierra, the event curators, said the exhibition returned to San Benito after a decade.

At the opening, Rawls emphasized the renewed importance of representing women in the arts.

“It’s more important than it ever was,” she said. “I felt like there was a point in time that … we didn’t need any more of, like, exhibitions that highlighted women. But, it declined eventually with everything that goes on and all this hatred and patriarchy and all this stuff.”

Rawls expressed hope that visitors would appreciate the exhibition as a showcase of “women who make art,” rather than simply “women’s art.” The artist stressed the need to provide spaces for women to express themselves artistically.

Aleda García, the director of the San Benito Cultural Arts Department, recalled the challenges faced by female artists in the Rio Grande Valley in the 1990s. 

“I’m an artist, and …like in the ’90s, there were really not a lot of spaces … for [female artists] to be able to kind of explore,” she said. “We had maybe, like, one or two gallery spaces, and it was mostly guys. And so, it was really difficult for us to really be able to even become … some sort of community.”

Brownsville artist Aura Velasquez described her current artistic phase as “very experimental.”

Velasquez said exhibitions such as “Mujer-Eres: Raíces” are vital because they “give voices to those that are being oppressed, especially now, like, considering the situation that we’re in.”

Victoria Lynn Rivera, an artist from Harlingen, discussed her ceramic and stoneware sculpture, Disquietude. 

“It’s a self portrait,” Rivera said. “… It’s basically how I feel. … Whenever I get rather anxious [or] stressed out … people usually don’t see it.”

She said she aimed to personify anxiety through her work.

 “I tried to make it look very kind of aggressive, but also pretty,” Rivera said, noting the use of a black glaze in a gas firing to achieve a metallic sheen. “… The spikes kind of represent … the anxious feeling around people. I did that in hopes that it would turn shiny so people would be like, ‘Oh, like, something precious,’ but then, at the same time, it’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I want to get near it.’”

Sierra highlighted the diverse themes explored in the exhibition.

“A lot of works kind of cover, like, different perspectives of, like, the home life, parenting life … love … trying to dye your own hair,” she said, adding that some pieces reflected everyday experiences. “I feel, like, we all kind of go through that phase of, like, trying to find your identity.”

Alyssa Christensen, a San Benito artist, spoke about her piece “Uneven Lines,” enamel on mirror.

 “I wanted to really show not only just … girlhood, but also it’s a piece of, like, my identity,” Christensen said. “The rituals that you do every day or every month … the parting of hair and applying of dye, stuff that is … attached to you … that are so, like, emblematic of a person’s identity.”

She explained her choice of mirrors as a canvas.

 “I wanted it to be that anyone could look into it and almost see themselves,” Christensen said. “… Art is a reflection of everything that’s happening in the world, and we need as many perspectives as we can.”

When asked about concerns about potential arts federal cutbacks, García expressed optimism.

“For me, it’s just being able to focus on how we are impacting our community,” she replied. “How we’re able to provide these safe spaces … that we can start talking about these things. … Focus on helping each other out and holding each other up.”

For more information, visit @SB_Cultural on Instagram or San Benito Cultural Arts Department on Facebook.