Embracing a wide variety of creative outlets from developing murals to organizing community storytelling events, Rosalia Torres-Weiner is an artist/activist who draws on her Mexican heritage to address persistent issues faced by immigrant populations. In addition to a prolific studio practice, Torres-Weiner helps young people cope with the trauma associated with the deportation of loved ones––an issue that often goes unnoticed and unhealed. In her words, “My aim is to use my art to make a social difference, and serve as part of a broader solution to issues affecting all of us.”
While her paintings, murals, and collages are linked by a vibrant narrative thread, it is the stories that are revealed through her community engagements that resonate in compelling and unexpected ways. During her residency this summer, Torres-Weiner will continue to advance the Papalote Project, an ongoing series of art workshops that help local children tell how they have been affected by the deportation of a relative. She will also focus on the completion of an illustrated children’s book called “The Magic Kite,” a story that focuses on a boy in America named Tito, whose father is deported. “The Magic Kite” is also in early development for a stage production.
Beyond her local community and native Mexico, Rosalia Torres-Weiner extends her practice to raising awareness and funds for those in need all over the world. In 2010 she founded Project Art Aid in response to the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, and now benefits the American Cancer Society. She is an active representative for the arts community and regularly lectures on her work and outreach.
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