Mud + Corn + Stone + Blue Artist Residencies

As part of their presentation of the ICI traveling exhibition Mud + Corn + Stone + Blue, the Rubin Center for the Arts invited six of the exhibition artists to conduct micro-residencies during the 2024-25 academic year. In collaboration with UTEP faculty, staff, and students, artists Oscar Rene Cornejo, Aron Adrian Venegas, Tesora Molina-Garcia, Anthony & Frances Almendarez, and Lorena Molina designed their own residency offerings, which included public artist talks, skills-based workshops for students, and informal gatherings to discuss contemporary practice and professional development.

Oscar Rene Cornejo

Oscar Rene Cornejo offered several fresco workshops in the open courtyard foyer of the Fox Fine Arts building, inviting students to directly engage with the complex and historic medium of fresco. He also presented artist talks that illuminated the rich history and contemporary relevance of fresco, drawing from his extensive knowledge and experiences at institutions like the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and a "Coffee with the Artist" session where students could discuss contemporary art practices and career pathways, fostering a deeper understanding of the art world. By sharing his personal experiences and professional insights as well as technical instruction, Cornejo inspired students to consider the social implications of their own artistic endeavors and to explore the potent intersection of art, history, and personal narrative.

Aron Adrian Venegas

Aron Adrian Venegas partnered with local youth organizations in El Paso, Texas to bring elementary-aged students to the Rubin Center for "Raíces Family Day." The event transformed the museum into an interactive workshop and educational space centered around Mud + Corn + Stone + Blue, featuring tortilla press printmaking, screen printing, storytelling, and a large collaborative drawing focused on food pathways. Venegas shared his artistic process, which fuses traditional printmaking with contemporary graphics, and personally guided participants through the hands-on activities. Throughout his residency, the artist collaborated closely with professor Nabil Gonzalez’s advanced printmaking class, and facilitated portfolio review and critique in concert with his ongoing project Puro Borde!, which helps bridge artists through bi-national portfolio exchanges. Venegas also extended his impact beyond the Rubin Center by conducting workshops at Eastlake High School with Gloria Castañeda and at Colonia Tarahumara in nearby Ciudad Juárez, and invited select UTEP students to participate in Túnel Gráfico, an exhibition organized with Luis Ángel Roacho Aguilera.

Tesora Molina-Garcia

Tesora Molina-Garcia’s residency emphasized the intersection of personal narrative and artistic practice. Leading up to her workshop at the Rubin Center, Tesora hosted virtual planning sessions with students inviting them to explore their maternal archives. The final workshop focused on creating a handmade accordion zine, which combined the participants' family photos and narratives with digital collage techniques. Participants engaged in discussions about the stories they uncovered, transforming their personal contributions into a large-format, experimental book celebrating maternal legacies. This book was then archived in the UTEP Library’s special collections, preserving these stories for future generations. By facilitating a collaborative project with a unique perspective on storytelling, Molina-Garcia encouraged participants to engage with their own histories and to consider the role of art in preserving and sharing these narratives.

Anthony and Francis Almendárez

In "Navigating the Archives Within," Anthony and Francis Almendárez explored the transmission of histories and cultural traditions through sound. Their collaborative, improvisation-centered residency included a guided walkthrough of Mud + Corn + Stone + Blue, a film screening and Q&A session, and a sound improvisation workshop. In the workshop, the Almendárez brothers invited participants to explore their personal experiences through music-making, encouraging collective experimentation and emphasizing listening as a tool for self and group identity development. Their multi-faceted approach to the residency allowed participants to engage with the artists' work on multiple levels, creating a deeper understanding of their artistic processes and highlighting the power of sound as a medium for healing, investigation, and creative expression.

Lorena Molina

Lorena Molina’s residency explored themes of homeland, migration, and return through cumbia dance, and culminated in the participatory performance "Danzas del Retorno," which took place within the hanging corn stalks of Molina's installation. During working sessions with the Performance Activism class taught by UTEP dance faculty Sandra Paola López Ramírez, Molina worked with students as they learned the basic movements and history of cumbia, choreographed "Danzas del Retorno," and explored the power of dance as a form of resistance and celebration of physical agency. By drawing on Molina's lived experience and expertise in photography, performance, and installation, the performance fostered a deeper understanding of the political dimensions of artistic expression and encouraged students to consider the social and political implications of their own creative work.