MACLA, Montalvo come together for Latino artists’ exhibit

Joint art exhibit

Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, or MACLA, in downtown San Jose and Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga are collaborating on a multimedia exhibit showcasing generational knowledge and stories.

For “From Their Hands to Ours,” five Latino artists use familiar materials in new ways and reimagine traditional crafts to tell their personal narratives, creating a dialogue between the past and present.

Estefania Ajcipis is a Long Beach artist whose work draws from her Guatemalan upbringing and touches on her relationship with her father to trace a journey of longing, migration and resilience.

Miguel Arzabe is an Oakland artist who deconstructs paintings and puts them back together in a way that is reminiscent of Bolivian textile practice.

Rafa esparza from Los Angeles reflects on his Chicano heritage through adobe brick-making, a reference to his father, to explore themes of family, labor and home.

Edra Soto, a Chicago-based artist, examines diasporic identity and colonial histories that stem from her Puerto Rican migration and extend into her current Chicago community.

Arleene Correa Valencia, a Napa-based artist, takes her immigrant experience and turns it into visual explorations of belonging and identity.

The exhibit runs through March 8 at MACLA at 510 S. First St. in San Jose.

Neighborhood Notes

CAMBRIAN>>Vitalant is hosting a Dec. 22 blood drive, noon-4:30 p.m., at Cambrian Park Church of the Nazarene. All donors will be eligible to win the Big $20,000 Giveaway. One donor’s name will be drawn to win a prepaid gift card of their choice. Plus, those who donate and opt in to Vitalant Donor Rewards will get a $15 gift card and a mystery item from the rewards store.

For more information and to make an appointment, visit vitalant.org or call 877-25-VITAL (877-258-4825).