Crystal Cisneros-Villa

A child of migrant parents, Crystal Cisneros-Villa, occupies names of a colonized body of people. Mestizaje, however historically ancient & blurred, has become the synthesis of Nepantla Chicanx. Acknowledging that the colonized body has time and time again been a product of rape, caste, & slavery, Nepantla Chicanx emerges as a body of work and collection of community empowerment with values centered on healing & documentation of spiritual border crossing. Oakland born, San Jose raised, & Santa Cruz educated. Crys, makes peace with childhood, gender roles, and paves way for womxn to heal and release wounds of the patriarchy. A fluid artist commencing art through hand-me down tools abandoned by loved ones and public school education scattered with unequal levels of funding. Photographs of love, the process of assimilation, rebellion, hand me down musical instruments, & voices that have been forgotten are all realms integral to the creation of evolving works created by the artist.

What does "liberation" mean to you?

Liberación means a complete autonomy of the self. A sustainable liberation that leads to freedom from oppressive systems discursively enforced by cis-white patriarchal modalities and governments. Liberation is a lifestyle centered on love, growth, & creative reimagining where every voice is equally heard and every body equally respected; leading a movement of peace. A continuous movement of the people; exodus from segregation. No matter how independent, liberation is a community movement that requires intersectional equity.

Is your creative practice one of liberation?

My creative practice is one that seeks to liberate my voice & memory from ancestral & lived trauma. By painting my own culture and claiming my story, I redefine symbols that are otherwise non-fluid. By creating, I myself allow fluidity to run in me & use my voice to represent the axis of intersectional identities embodied by my unique experience. Taking charge and celebrating parts of my able body, I eliminate sensory deprivation to finally feel complete, autonomous, & in charge of my body. As an interdisciplinary & multidisciplinary artist, my pieces collide to create a more complete picture of what it means to occupy the road towards inclusive empowerment. I cultivate work to help others tell their story, whatever intersecting cultures it may be influenced by.

How can art be a tool in the revolution?

Art is a tool for liberation because it reveals ever expanding consciousness. Art challenges and breaks constructs. Art can inform, enlighten, and heal simultaneously.

Share a little bit about your creative process!

My creative process is one that uses different mediums as the ultimate resort to release conditioning.

With the unexpected season of quarantine, I've reclaimed my time for musical exploration. Melodies reveal subconscious thoughts and empower the voice within. Whenever I feel the need to sit with a complicated emotion or story, I start a piece of work.

Photography is a mindful practice allowing the exploration of minuscule expressions of the universe while capturing memories that become an integral part of individual and collective history.

Any other reflections you'd like to share?

El Arte es para todxs.

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