Announcing our 2021 Art Residency: a collaboration with Signal Fire and SOU's Schneider Museum
Vesper Meadow is working in partnership with Signal Fire’s Tinderbox program, and SOU’s Schneider Museum’s Art Beyond project to bring outdoor art to the Preserve.
SOUTHERN OREGON - Signal Fire announces Gabriel Barrera as 2021 Tinderbox Artist in Residence at Vesper Meadow. The artwork created at this residency will be on display at Vesper Meadow as part of the Art Beyond outdoor art festival this summer, organized by Schneider Art Museum. Tinderbox Artists in Residence are embedded in grassroots environmental advocacy organizations. Artists receive a stipend, and work closely with the staff and volunteers in the office and the field to develop a body of work specific to the experience. This partnership exists at the intersection of multiple artist communities, regional social justice initiatives, and decolonized environmental stewardship showcasing the capacity of interdisciplinary coalition building across the Rogue Valley.
Originally from Southern California, Gabriel Barrera is a Mexican American/Xicanx visual artist living in Southern Oregon. He works in various mediums including traditional art methods, multimedia and graphics. His artwork is rooted in social justice, advocacy, and youth mentorship. Gabriel received a BFA from Pratt Institute and has worked for over 20 years as a scenic artist in theaters such as South Coast Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and numerous colleges. He currently operates ScenicG, a visual art and design company providing services in art/design, workshops, consultation, facilitation and mentorship.
“We are excited to collaborate with Gabriel, because with his art, he brings a lens of social justice and will be able to portray the complex relationships between people and land over time,” says Jeanine Moy, Director of the Vesper Meadow Restoration Preserve. Located 30 minutes east of Ashland and 45 minutes west of Klamath Falls, Vesper Meadow is a rare highland meadow prioritizing native food plant cultivation and ecological values through partnership with scientists, Tribes, artists, educators, and other community leaders. Learn more at www.vespermeadow.org.
This is the fourth Signal Fire Tinderbox Residency and the second based in Southern Oregon. In 2020, Erica Alexia Ledesma was the Tinderbox Artist in Residence at Phoenix-based Rogue Climate. Signal Fire empowers artists and activists in the fight for Indigenous sovereignty and land justice. Learn more about Signal Fire at www.signalfirearts.org.
Gabriel Barrera, 2021 Tinderbox Artist-in-Resident at Vesper Meadow
Artists’ Statement:
Originally from Southern California, Gabriel Barrera is a Mexican American/Chicano visual artist living in Southern Oregon. He works in various mediums from traditional art methods to multimedia and graphics. The identity of his art work is rooted in social justice, advocacy, and mentorship. Being influenced by his mother, a school teacher, and his father, an artist/tool designer, he has found his strength in merging his influences to produce his practice of Artivism. He has been practicing as an artist ever since his parents provided him with sketch pads and pencils when he was a child. Gabriel received a BFA from Pratt Institute in NYC. He has also been greatly influenced by his experience as a scenic artist with 20 years in the theater industry working for theaters such as South Coast Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and numerous colleges in California, Oregon and others. His experience and advocacy for social justice developed while working in theater. His ideology is heavily influenced by BIPOC women in the field. While developing as an artist, he also developed as a mentor for BIPOC youth. Gabriel is considered an influencer and mentor among the BIPOC community. He currently operates ScenicG, a visual art and design company providing services in art/design, workshops, consultation, facilitation and mentorship. Gabriel is always available to mentor BIPOC youth and advocates for the leadership, hiring and promotion of BIPOC artists in all fields of creativity. His vision is to create an art/performance space centered with social justice values to provide a creative outlet for himself, colleagues, collaborators, mentors and mentees. Together we can advocate for the empowerment of BIPOC creatives!