Nora Chapa Mendoza
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Nora Chapa Mendoza | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1932 (age 93–94) |
| Known for | abstract painting |
Nora Chapa Mendoza (born 1932) is a Texas-born artist.[1] She has been named Michigan Artist of the Year[2] and in 1999 she received the Governor's Arts Award.[2] In 1996, she was one of eight artists that participated in the renovation of Detroit's Music Hall.[3]
Life and education
She was born in Weslaco, Texas to Mexican parents.[4] She studied at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit[5] and Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan.[6]
Art work
She has become well known for the forms hidden within her abstract paintings.[7] Her paintings often draw on themes of immigration and deterritorialization,[8] human rights, labor, rebellion [9] and are informed by her Mexican heritage and her experiences as an artist in Detroit.[4] She has done work including restoration, workshops, artist in residence, and murals.[4]
Arts Organizations
Throughout her life, Mendoza worked to create an environment where differences were valued, and where future generations would not experience the discrimination she experienced in her own life.[10] In 1978, Mendoza, along with a group of Latino artists formed Nuestras Artes de Michigan (NAM),[11] with chapters established in Ann Arbor, Detroit and Lansing.[12] She was also a founding member of the Michigan Hispanic Cultural/Art Association (MHCC).[12] In 1999, Mendoza acted as the official liaison to the Michigan Latino Arts and Culture Initiative, a collaboration of Casa de Unidad, the Michigan Council for the Arts, and the Michigan Department of Education.[12]