BRIEF: Artist Jesse Rodriguez speaks about art for social justice at UHCL

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, UHCL’s Latinx and Latin American Studies (LLAS) program collaborated with the Latinx and Indigenous Students Taking Action (LISTA) and UHCL Art Association student organizations, among others, to put on the “Hispanic Heritage Month: Using Art for Social Justice” event. 

The event brought local artist and founder of Magnolia Park art gallery Magnolia Grown, Jesse Rodriguez, to speak on The Chicano Renaissance in Magnolia Park. The speaker discussed history, heritage and the necessity for art in gentrifying communities.

Due to the cancellation of the “Hispanic Heritage Month: Using Art for Social Justice Kick-Off Event” by Tropical Storm Imelda, the beginning of this event was reserved to award faculty in the LLAS program, student leaders from the Cultural Anthropology Student Association (CASA), LISTA, LLAS, and Art Association for their achievements in enriching UHCL’s Latinx programming this year.

Rodriguez’s brother-in-law, Richard Rodriguez, began the speaker portion of the event by discussing the history of Magnolia Park as a community, the families who originally settled there, and the gentrification of the area.

After a quick history lesson on Houston’s East End, Jesse Rodriguez spoke about how the history of his community has inspired his art. Furthermore, Rodriguez told the story of the Magnolia Grown art gallery, a space created for artwork from Chicano artists in the Magnolia Park neighborhood.

Rodriguez stayed afterward to answer questions and engage with students as they explored the various pieces of art he brought along with him. Students also had the opportunity to view other pieces of art from the Using Art for Social Justice event held in the spring.

“Hispanic Heritage Month: Using Art for Social Justice” events will continue through Oct. 15 with events occurring Oct. 2 from 7 – 8:30 p.m. and Oct. 8 from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. in the SSCB Lecture Hall.