Erika Guadalupe Núñez

Erika will develop an after-school graphic design and stipend screen-print training program for immigrant youth living in South Philadelphia. Housed at Juntos, the program will be taught by Erika and local artists through a series of bilingual lesson plans which will be stored in an archive on Juntos’ website for free public use. By providing participants with the tools to create their own images, Erika hopes to develop future artistic leaders for Juntos that will raise consciousness around issues affecting queer and/or immigrant communities and other communities of color. As a final capstone, Juntos youth will host their own open house event and lead their own mini workshop for members of their community, for which they will each be paid.

Erika Guadalupe Núñez is a queer immigrant, artist, and community organizer for immigrant rights in Philadelphia. After emigrating from Mexico at a young age, Erika remained undocumented until she received her green card in 2013. As an artist, Erika's goals are to preserve and lift up the histories of her people while also expanding to include new narratives that speak to who we are as a community. Erika's visual art pays homage to her culture and upbringing while simultaneously serving as a tool for social change. 

Over the span of six months, Erika will hold a series of workshops focused on teaching immigrant and queer youth of color the printmaking skills necessary to create visual artwork that speaks of their own lived truth. Participants will be taught grassroots organizing tools, informed of current social issues, and encouraged to challenge the status quo by creating art around themes of race, immigration, gender, and sexuality. This collaborative workshop series will culminate in a free, public art show that aims to raise the consciousness of the general public around the complex and multifaceted identities that make up LGBTQ and/or immigrant communities.