Day of the dead comunity event 2016 presenting:

Beatriz Vasquez Papel Picado with a Modern Twist 

For the last 20 years I have lived in a city that has become my home, but the sense of belonging was never quite there until I found it through my art. In 2007 I returned to my birthplace, Brownsville, Texas, and to Matamoros, Mexico, where most of my childhood memories were established. I desperately needed to reconnect with my identity as a first-generation Mexican American female artist. My extended visit brought me to a place in the world where indigenous people, art, traditions and crafts are honored, represented, voiced and preserved. I learned through my indigenous family the importance of continuing the legacy of a culture: this became the very basis of my work, to create art that brought representation of indigenous people to a broader audience. Through my newly-found skill of cutting paper and creating papel picado, a traditional craft although one that is typically disposable, I found solace and my artistic voice. Beatriz Vasquez received her B.F.A. from the Herron School of Art & Design, IUPUI, in 2006. She has been an Artist in Residence at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art and Indianapolis Public Schools. Vasquez is a current Creative Renewal Arts Fellow of the Arts Council of Indianapolis. She can be reached through Facebook at Beatrizdesignz.