Pima Alum Receives International Recognition for Artwork Speaking Out Against Femicide

凡妮莎·萨维德拉 always knew her art could speak to something larger than herself. 

Saavedra出生在墨西哥哈利斯科州，在H. 诺加利斯，索诺拉，沿着美国.S./墨西哥边境. 她在亚利桑那州的诺加利斯上高中.

After seeing her sister succeed at Pima, Saavedra came from Nogales to start classes at the College. She’d always had an interest in art and decided to pursue her associate degree in 视觉 & 表演艺术. 

Her art courses initially focused on the basics: color composition, painting techniques, sculpture. 在皮马教练大卫·安德烈斯的鼓励下, 萨维德拉开始以自己的方式探索艺术. 

皮马人的视觉 & 表演艺术 program prepared Saavedra to pursue a career in arts education and to share her art locally, 国内和国际. 

Vanessa证明了Pima在视觉艺术方面有很强的实力, 一个可以在国际层面上得到认可的,安德烈斯说。.

获得视觉艺术学位

皮马人的视觉 & 表演艺术 program teaches the fundamentals of music, theater and visual arts. Students learn how to create and market their art and have opportunities to get involved at Pima through student-produced 展览及展览馆. 

Pima art courses are also resources for the Tucson community to learn the basics of making and appreciating art. 皮马人的 艺术中心 puts on events and shows for all members of the community to enjoy. 

从皮马毕业后，萨维德拉 转移 to the University of Arizona (UA) to complete her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2-D Studio. “My training at Pima was so important to me and helped me succeed at the UA after I left,萨维德拉分享道. 

She graduated from the UA in May 2021 and is continuing to share her work both locally and internationally. Saavedra recently accepted a teaching fellow position at BASIS Elementary in Oro Valley. She plans to continue a career as an art teacher and will apply to graduate programs this year to get the education needed to teach at the university level. 

艺术与社会正义

At Pima, Saavedra also explored how art can spread awareness about social justice. 

Pima Arts focuses on social justice in its curriculum and exhibits. 的 路易斯·卡洛斯·伯纳尔画廊 展览区域, national and international contemporary artists and sponsors a juried student exhibition each spring semester. While the gallery’s exhibits focus on a variety of themes and topics, a commitment to showcasing art about social justice is a common thread. 

她在皮马的时候, Saavedra not only worked on her own art and academic projects, 她也在画廊帮忙.

Saavedra was the first student to receive the Louis Carlos Bernal Award for Excellence in Art during the 2019 Juried Student Art Exhibition.

As Saavedra developed the skills and confidence to push herself creatively, she followed the legacy of the Bernal Gallery and used her artwork to bring awareness to an issue that mattered to her: femicides in Mexico. 

A femicide is the killing of a woman or girl because of her gender. In 2020, it was reported nearly one thousand women and girls were murdered in Mexico, 引发了全国各地的抗议活动. 

的 stories of victims of femicide continue to make Saavedra emotional. She recognizes femicides are a result of broader systems of sexism and sexual harassment that are not unique to Mexico. 

“Sexism happens everywhere and it has devastating consequences for women and girls that we need to address,萨维德拉说. 

“艺术家有责任让人们意识到……”——凡妮莎·萨维德拉

为她, producing art is a way to spread awareness and to process her own emotions about this difficult topic. Saavedra’s art pays attention to the crisis and the stories of women. 她谈到了各种形式的性别暴力, including harassment and sexism in Mexico and the United States. 

Saavedra是一位多媒体艺术家, which means she uses a variety of techniques and materials to create her work. 在她的画作中, 她增加了衣服, shoes and other materials to show how sexual violence is a real issue that impacts real communities.

“I believe artists have a responsibility to make people aware of what is happening 在 world,萨维德拉分享道. “创作这样一个沉重主题的作品并不容易, 但我知道分享这些故事很重要.”

这种承诺正在得到回报. Saavedra is currently exhibiting her work virtually in shows such as the University of Arizona BFA Show (2021), “甚至再现” 粉红领画廊 在 英国(2021年)和《星际官方赌钱》(Re-Imaginar) 拉斯维加斯Iluministas 墨西哥城(2021年). Her work also appeared on the cover of the University of Arizona's Journal of Creative Geography, 你在这里. 

While the professional and artistic success has been exciting for Saavedra, she is learning how to take breaks from thinking about the difficult subject matter. 

“I’ve learned you can’t be an activist all the time,萨维德拉说. “I’m figuring out how to take care of myself while I do this work.”

For now, Saavedra is taking each project as it comes: bold, important and bound to change the world.