Today we’d like to introduce you to Natasha Mijares.
Natasha, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am an artist, writer, curator, and educator. I am originally from Miami and I moved to Chicago almost three years ago to pursue my Masters in Fine Art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I grew up visiting Chicago, so it has been nice to finally be able to call it home.
I have been able to show in exhibitions, collaborate with others, write for numerous publications such as South Side Weekly and Sixty Inches from Center. I am also the curator of the Six Points Reading Series for The Chicago Poetry Center and I am a teaching artist for numerous art non-profits.
Has it been a smooth road?
I would say that the lack of smoothness in any of my endeavors has been a result of being interested in so many different things at once. I have come to accept that that is just the way I am as a person and how I operate in my work and life, but it does add some complications.
I think there is a lot of pressure in the art world to label yourself as a certain type of artist in order to make institutions happy in their fulfillment of a certain kind of quota and I have always been resistant to that.
While I have been able to hone in my style and voice throughout the years, I know that I am constantly evolving and my work will evolve as a result so I am always wary of using any labels because I know things will shift soon thereafter.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My work involves the questions that language brings forth. I create artists’ books, sculptures, and fiber works that explore the process of inter-textuality. I work with text and texture in ways that comment upon the natural world and the relationship between language and environment. As language continues to be codified and de-codified, I seek to play with its versatility and tension.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think Chicago is a great home for artists. It is more affordable than a lot of other cities that artists want to live in. Chicago is also just a great place to live while still being active in other cities as well, you can easily get a 3 or 4-hour flight to NY or L.A. without having to actually live in NY or L.A.
I think Chicago is an ideal place to start out in your artistic practice because there are endless free or affordable opportunities to workshop your work, participate in the discussion and reading groups, show and exhibit your work, and just meet other like-minded people. People here are hard-working and still empathetic at the same time and it makes for a sustainable arts community.
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