Rage One

We’re excited to share the artists participating in tierra, the fourth iteration of Craft Contemporary’s Clay Biennial, opening May 30 and on view May 31 through October 25, 2027.  Bringing together 20 practitioners, tierra expands beyond clay as a singular medium to encompass broader approaches grounded in land and earth. Across the work presented, earth-based materials appear not only as matter, but as carriers of relation, marked by touch, shaped by labor, and mended through care.  The exhibition includes 14 participating artists whose work engages material as a holder of cultural memory and as a site where knowledge takes shape through making, tending, and embodied practice. It also includes six contributing artists whose text-based works are interwoven throughout the exhibition, expanding how knowledge is held and carried across forms.  The exhibition is organized by a curatorial committee led by Andres Payan Estrada @andres_payan ,and includes Frida Cano @arttextum , Joel Garcia @rageone , Mercedes Dorame @mercedes.dorame ,and Cannupa Hanska Luger @cannupahanska . The invited artists emerged through ongoing dialogue with the committee, forming a constellation of work that positions material as a holder of cultural memory, and as a site where knowledge is shaped through making, tending, and care.  tierra is co-organized in collaboration with the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts.  🏺 Participating artists include:  @adebooms , @jackieamezquita , @natalia_arbelaez_ , @sydcrpntr , Teresa Castro, @armandogcortes , @elrafaesparza , @miguelfernandezdecastro , @karlagarciaart , @chsandoval44 , @jokeanelopez , @rubenolguinarts , @imanperson_studio , @jeredcorn   ✍️ With contributions by:  Andrea Everett, @liebeliebe , @skyhopinka , @tcandiani , @tksmith106 , @meganmichelledorame

2026 CLAY BIENNIAL CURATORIAL COMMITTEE We are pleased to announce the curatorial committee for the 2026 Clay Biennial, tierra. Part of Craft Contemporary’s ongoing Clay Biennial series, this iteration unfolds through layered understandings of the word tierra. tierra as ground beneath the body, as homeland carried across distance, and as a living archive shaped by labor, violence, and care. Expanding beyond clay toward practices grounded in land and earth, the exhibition approaches earth-based materials as carriers of relation: touched, altered, remembered, and tended. tierra foregrounds Latinx, Indigenous, and Black artists whose practices reflect emotional, familial, and cultural connections to land. - Andres Payan Estrada (@andres_payan ) — tierra Lead Curator; artist and curator whose practice moves across craft, material politics, and queer experience; Senior Curator at the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts Frida Cano (@arttextum ) — Artist and curator whose research-based practice maps cultural ecologies and systems of knowledge; Senior Curator at Craft Contemporary Mercedes Dorame (@mercedes.dorame ) — Tongva artist whose practice engages land, sky, and ancestral knowledge, weaving material inquiry with questions of visibility, memory, and Indigenous continuity Joel Garcia (@rageone ) — Huichol artist, educator, and cultural organizer centering Indigenous land, healing, and collective care; Director of Meztli Projects Cannupa Hanska Luger (@cannupahanska )— Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota artist and cultural innovator whose work activates Indigenous worldviews, ecological repair, and collective futures across material and social practice - tierra is created in collaboration with the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts. @el.rubincenter

That big beautiful full moon up there tonight is for you my dear friend. Susana Sáez Gonzalez, was Tribal Chief and steward of traditional practices, Cucapá El Mayor. And a brilliant fisher, who used Indigenous science to read the moon and understood the moontides to practice their ancestral fishing in the Colorado River and Delta. A practice that has been impacted by development on the US side of the Colorado River. She had been sick this whole last year and got ill again last week. The community there suffers all the environmental harms you can imagine. She was a close friend, a rebel, and an amazing woman. If you have any means to support the family please donate via zelle to @meztliprojects 📸 by @unamericain

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WE BELONG HERE is a public art project collaboration that harnesses the power of creative expression in partnership with local artists and institutions, transforming the @laplazala campus into a vibrant canvas of resistance. Large-scale projections and neon signs displayed on LA Plaza’s exterior walls explore themes of the immigrant and undocumented experience, resilience, and call out the injustices affecting the communities of Los Angeles. From sunset to dawn, LA Plaza walls come alive with bold, striking images by ten extraordinary artists, many of them based in Los Angeles: The five partnering institutions are LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes (LAPCA), California Community Foundation (CCF Headquarters) @calfund , Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) @sparcinla , Japanese American National Museum (JANM) @jamuseum , and the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) @molaa.art . Each site presents a distinct selection of images reflecting its own artistic and cultural perspective. The We Belong Here initiative is presented in partnership with Am I Next, a public movement led by @calfund that stands against silence in the face of growing injustice. To learn more about Am I Next, visit aminextla.org. Artists Brandy González @gonzalezoriginal Ernesto Yerena Montejano @ernestoyerena Joel García @rageone John Fleissner @johnfleissner Lalo Alcaraz @laloalcaraz1 Las Chicas Peligrosas @laschicaspeligrosas Lilia Ramirez “Liliflor” Man One @manoneart Mario Hernández @herdzmedia Patrick Martinez @patrick_martinez_studio

Seems like this is the month of books, as the “We Place Life at the Center” catalogue about @lacaycedo ‘s exhibition at vpam_arts features a conversation between @mercedes.dorame and me about the emergence of The Iridescence of Knowing exhibition at @oxyarts and both of our experiences with our creative practice as Indigenous artists and maybe some helpful groundings in navigating the relationship between “ART” and Indigenous Peoples, a dynamic that frequently causes harm, and sometimes some really beautiful things.  Thanks to @lacaycedo @hooligandisco (curator of the exhibition) @mercedes.dorame and the Vincent Price Art Musuem

The @monument_lab ReGeneration book is so stylish and beautiful. Thank to @kirbiejo @native.illustrator @mercedes.dorame @k.j.lopez_ and River for all the work included in this book. The ripple effects of this work has created so many wonderful things for so many folks. Photos included in this book by @erickphotolenz and @k.j.lopez_

Thanks to @culture_la for inviting me and other Indigenous folks to help develop this program. 2026 RFQ: Community Regenerative Art COMMUNITY REGENERATIVE ART seeks to remedy the real-time impacts of climate change, growing social disconnection and polarization, and connect climate justice solutions to the realm of public art. Community Regenerative Art will support artistic and cultural projects that provide care and regeneration for communities and ecological urban habitats. Projects commissioned through Community Regenerative Art may take the form of what we historically have called eco-art, land-art, or environmental art; they may be presented in a wide variety of media; and they may address pressing environmental issues such as climate change, environmental sustainability and justice. Regenerative design is an approach within the sustainable agricultural field. It mimics ecological systems to create sites that are stable, resilient, and beneficial for all who reside within that site. This design process originates from many Indigenous land management and agriculture practices found throughout the world. Through this RFQ, (DCA) seeks to establish a roster of pre-qualified artists and artist-culture bearers, both individuals and teams, whose artistic practices repair and rebuild relationships between people and the land, thereby regenerating the natural environment and local urban ecosystem. Budgets Project budgets may range between $25,000 and $250,000. Criteria Successful applicants will respond to this RFQ with application materials that show: • Demonstrated and sustained connections to local Indigenous peoples of Los Angeles; • Critical thinking around contemporary narratives about climate change and justice, environmental and land stewardship, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), regenerative design and development, permaculture, biomimicry, biophilic design and/or other nature-based solutions; • Ability to create and build relationships among local communities, the urban environment, and the ecological system of a given place, neighborhood, or site; • Innovative artistic approaches to cultural education and public art programming

Thank you to everyone who joined LAND and the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation at our recent woodblock printing workshop led by artists River Tikwi Garza (Tongva) and Joel Garcia (Huichol). The artists encouraged attendees to use their own designs, or existing ones, to create prints, postcards, and greeting cards inspired by the nature at Kuruvungna Village Springs. Both artists also spoke about the importance of our bird and animal relatives, as well as the idea of being a responsible guest on the land we call home. If you missed this workshop, join us at a future “Endless Wellspring” event by tapping the link in our bio to see our full schedule. Presented by Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND) and the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation, "Endless Wellspring" is organized by artist Mercedes Dorame and Christopher Mangum-James, LAND deputy director, with support from artist and scholar Lili Flores Aguilar. Photos by @ginaclyne .

“Artists, they do spiritual triage. They assess where the work is needed, where creativity can help support the spiritual, mental, emotional wellbeing of people.” — Joel Garcia, artist ICE raids have not only inspired activism — but art By @aguzmanlopez for @laistofficial Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

Sending you all so much love during these times. Please join us for the opening celebration of Waning Crescent: a meztli projects group show at @oxyarts this Thursday, June 12, at 6 pm. We know times are rough right now, but let’s not let them rob us of our joy. Thursday, June 12 | 6-8 pm 4757 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90042 OXY ARTS “Waning Crescent: a meztli projects group show” celebrates the journey of meztli projects in supporting Native and Indigenous artists. The exhibition features works created between 2024 and today by artists engaged in their collaborative ecosystem. These pieces signify a new phase for the artists, showcasing growth into new creative realms. For instance, River Garza and Emilia Cruz have evolved toward sculptural work, Kimberly Robertson’s intricate beadwork creations into large beaded tapestries, and Kenneth Lopez’s documentary photography blended into woven visions. Meztli, the Nahuatl word for “moon,” symbolizes the various phases of this collective’s approach to cultivating relationships with young Indigenous artists, culture bearers, and the general public. They take time to reflect on important values such as stewardship, the significance of reindigenizing spaces and technologies, and the deep connection between ceremony and art-making. Their work reflects the changing seasons and responds to the current moment. A Waning Crescent represents the small sliver of the moon visible just before it enters the New Moon phase. This exhibition symbolizes what lies ahead for meztli projects and highlights their partnership with OXY ARTS, which has hosted various creative efforts and exemplifies a nurturing, reciprocal relationship for Indigenous artists and institutional spaces. Exhibiting artists include: Rihanna Barrera CJ Calica Emilia Cruz Joel Garcia River Garza Skyler Green Kenneth Lopez Kimberly Robertson Aanii Tate Alexandria Ybarra Isaac Michael Ybarra