In Merced, the team learned about the community outreach and organizing efforts of Natalie and Tsim Nuj, who help youth create powerful murals illustrating the cultural and ethnic diversity of the city. They also traveled to Oakland to visit AFSC’s 67 Sueños program, which helps Latinx youth tell their stories of struggle, resilience, and survival through art and activism.
The ArteVism cohort also took part in PVI’s platicas, or roundtable discussions, addressing a range of issues from land stewardship and climate change to migration in the U.S. During “The Colors of Migration” platica, Shane, Joshua, and PVI Program Coordinator Minerva Mendoza shared their own stories. Their personal histories illustrated the intersections of food production, external migration, internal displacement of Native Americans, and the great migration of African Americans from the South to the North.
Throughout their fellowship, the ArteVism cohort continued to contribute to their communities. In March, after seven …