Latino Artist Exhibit At AVA To Run March 4 - April 8

The Association for Visual Arts and La Paz Chattanooga are partnering to offer "Arte de los Latinos Locales," an exhibit to showcase Latino artists from around Chattanooga. The exhibit will be held March 4 through April 8, and will feature the works from several amateur and professional local Latino artists, including the art of some of the women involved in the Entre Nosotras program at La Paz Chattanooga.   
 
"For La Paz Chattanooga, this exhibit has several key purposes," says Patrick Miles, director of Community Engagement at La Paz.

"We hope to highlight the work of Latino artists who live and work here in this region. But we also hope it will encourage the creative process in others, especially of other Latino residents. We also want the Chattanooga community in general to see, appreciate, and support the Latino artists in our area."  
 
There will be pieces available on display and for purchase by several artists, both amateur and professional, including work by many of the women involved in Entre Nosotras, a program of La Paz Chattanooga, who utilize art as a therapeutic tool. Throughout the year, the women come together to paint and use the artistic process to relieve stress and express themselves. 
 
Also, there will be several pieces by professional Latino artists, including Kristina York, who is from Costa Rica. "I was surrounded by radiant colors and beauty from the very beginning," said Ms. York. "I’ve been practicing art during my entire life. As a child, from the moment I was able to hold a pen, I knew I was born to paint. My art is a bridge by which I find myself able to liberate my soul and spirit from the vast emotion transmitted to me by life. My work is always a spontaneous response to the inner voice of creativity in which I find myself striving to capture the essence of humanity, nature and matters of the spirit." 

Other artists displaying their work include Colombian-American Alvarajoce Desucre and Cuban-American Agnerys Gonzalez Lopez

The Association for Visual Arts gallery is located at 30 Frazier Avenue on the northshore of Chattanooga next to Blue Skies and Clumpies Ice Cream Parlor.  Exhibit hours at AVA are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
 
There will be a reception to kickoff the exhibit on Friday from 5:30-8 p.m. where attendees can meet the artists and hear more about their work and talk with representatives from La Paz Chattanooga.  The reception is open to the public.

"Our desire is to help Chattanoogans experience a different view of Latin America through the eyes and perspective of their artists," said Mr. Miles.   

In addition to the exhibit serving as a means to show Latino culture, La Paz hopes it will also help the greater Chattanooga community understand more about the mission and services provided by the organization. The window display at the gallery features statistics and brief information about the growth of the local Latino community, and La Paz's desire to raise additional funds to help meet the needs of this segment of Chattanooga's population.

The exhibit is being made possible through a collaboration with the Association of Visual Arts, La Paz Chattanooga, ArtsBuild Chattanooga, local artists, Olga de Klein and Rondell Crier, and the community organization, 100(100s). 

For more information, contact Mr. Miles at pmiles@lapazchattanooga.org or call the La Paz Chattanooga office at 423-624-8414.