A celebration of culture

On Oct. 6 in downtown Ithaca, N.Y. the Community School of Music and Arts came alive with vibrancy, beauty and a celebration of heritage. In addition to several other events that occurred during Hispanic Heritage month this year in Ithaca, an art exhibition took place featuring local Hispanic and Latinx artists. 

From Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 each year, the U.S. celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month in recognition of Hispanic and Latin American culture and history. In Ithaca, part of this celebration is exhibited through art.

The Latino Civic Association of Tompkins County (LCA) and Cultura Ithaca are two nonprofit organizations in the Ithaca area that collaborated to sponsor and put together the art exhibition as well as other events that occurred during Hispanic Heritage month, including several film festivals. 

Yen Ospina, who curated the exhibition and was a featured artist, said that one of the main goals in planning the art show was to feature many different kinds of Hispanic and Latinx artists from the area. 

“I really wanted to prioritize artists that lived around the Finger Lakes and central New York area and there’s just so many talented people around here,” Ospina said.

The influence of ancestry 

Sarah Lopez, one of the artists featured at the exhibition, specializes in making abstract art on canvases with fiber and yarn. Lopez said that as a daughter of immigrants, art has been a way for her to connect with her ancestry.

“My grandmothers from Mexico and Poland actually used to knit as a pastime and as a mode of survival to have clothing,” Lopez said. “I started making art because I wanted to connect with them and understand more about their connection to fiber.”

Hugo Medina, another artist that was featured, said that his art has been influenced by his own life experiences as an immigrant from Bolivia. 

“[These portraits] mainly deal with my immigration series – deal with being an immigrant, being born in Bolivia, being undocumented for many years,” Medina said. “Just that daily struggle of international people who are undocumented looking for an identity.”

Medina said that when it comes to understanding how culture and our ancestral backgrounds affect people, art is a way of putting an individual’s history and identity on public display. 

“As [artists]  we can’t help escape who we are. Everything from the food, the people, the different environments all influence our work,” Medina said. “Art is basically history and truth being captured as it’s happening.” 

Ospina said that having Colombian roots and growing up with parents who immigrated to America had a huge impact on her work as an artist and organizer of the event. 

“I think with all of the work and drive that my parents as immigrants worked for, giving me a better life, it kind of inspired me to become ambitious and also connect with my ancestry, my indigenous roots and my community as well,” Ospina said. 

In addition to the Oct. 6 art exhibition, LCA and Cultura Ithaca also held their second annual LatinX Heritage Fiesta on Oct. 14 in the Press Bay parking lot, which featured live performances, other local artists and food vendors. Ospina also took a role in organizing and planning that event. 

“I think it’s really important to come out to events like this, especially when it’s so much work to put them together,” Ospina said. “I’m just really thankful for having the opportunity to just put the drive and work into making all of these events happen.” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysrkA-VwTms