The seventh installment of NMWA’s Women to Watch exhibition series, New Worlds, is presented by the museum with the integral partnership of our national and international outreach committees.
The exhibition showcases 28 contemporary artists who respond to our extraordinary times—the global pandemic, advocacy for social reform, and political division—by reimagining the past, presenting alternate realities, and inspiring audiences to create different futures. We spoke with some of the participating artists about their featured work and practice.
Artist: Arely Morales
Nominating Committee: Texas State Committee
1. What themes does your work in New Worlds address?
My work addresses themes of identity, humanity, and vulnerability in the Latino immigrant workforce in the United States. In recent years, my community has faced uncertainty and has been cast in a negative light. I want to highlight and dignify my community’s presence and show its strength with my work.
2. Is this work representative of your oeuvre? How does it fit into your larger body of work?
Yes, this painting is part of an ongoing series of portraits of workers that elevates and dignifies immigrant labor. This work focuses on a group of beautiful and resilient women I met in Seattle.
3. As an artist, what are your essential materials and/or tools for building a new world?
In my case, people and their experiences are constant energies that inform a new world. Reflecting on those experiences allows others to see different perspectives and, hopefully, have empathy and a positive impact.
4. Did any books, music, film, news, or other art inform your work in this exhibition?
This work was informed by the writing of poet Juan Felipe Herrera, who, in his work, describes what is often the reality of immigrant workers in this country. I often return to his poems “Mexican Differences, Mexican Similarities” and “One by One.” I also came across sociological research in a class I took as a graduate student. This class, titled ” Working Latino/a,” was a sociological examination of working Latinos in the United States, focused on inequalities and power relations. Another major influence on my work is the stories of people in my paintings. As part of my practice, I learn their story, which often inspires the work.
5. How have the events of the past several years—the global pandemic, increased advocacy for social reform, and striking political division—changed or challenged your practice?
Although I was initially afraid to make these paintings, which focus on the challenges my community faces due to political division and negative targeting, I have also felt an urgency and found the courage to use my work to raise awareness about these issues.
6. If you could travel to any time, past or future, where would you go? Why?
I would travel to the past and plant more seeds for a better future regarding all these themes. I would also tell my younger self not to be afraid and to embrace my identity and heritage sooner.
New Worlds: Women to Watch 2024 is on view at the National Museum of Women in the Arts from April 14 to August 11, 2024.