Meet Valeria Olguín (she/her) a San Francisco born artist who has grown up between South San Francisco and her mom’s burrito shop. She finds immense pride and inspiration in her Bay Area roots, from the political movements of the 60’s and 70’s and the art that came from said movements, the murals of the Mission she was exposed to early on in her childhood, and the continued communal resistance against gentrification. 

While Valeria recalls always having found joy in creating art, her reconnection to art as an adult came during her time at college when she began community organizing, where she quickly learned to incorporate art as a communicative tool for social issues and community work. Valeria makes art with the understanding that art can exist as a universal language. She draws inspiration from her personal experiences, understandings and her roots, with the goal of transcending language barriers to communicate with people who connect with the work. 

Valeria playfully refers to her work as love letters. The caricature-like illustrations with vibrant colors are used to set a lighthearted tone with the intention of connecting with other marginalized people through shared joy and hope. Valeria calls her caricatures her ‘girls’, drawn with brown skin, big cheeks and a confident smirk. Inspired by her childhood need for representation and a passionate goal to reframe our notion of beauty.

Valeria is the Latinx Teaching Artist Fellow at Root Division. She currently has artwork at MCCLA’s Latine Heritage Month Group Show and The De Young Open, that opened on Saturday 9/30 at the museum. 

From September 8th to October 15th, Alejandra Rubio curated "We The Artists" featuring 5 standout Bay Area Latine artists, highlighting the modern artistic identity and representation.

Feature Published: September 29, 2023
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