ŌME

In "ŌME," artists Daniela Riojas and Leandre Douglas examine a dual Mestizaje and African American experience in a performance that expresses historical encounters between Indigenous and African peoples, focusing on pre-Columbian evidence of their connection through water travel and the subsequent brown/black impacts during Iberian colonialism. "ŌME" is an interdisciplinary production merging movement, music, and installation and will utilize the unique acoustic design. This performance will take place in SITE Gallery Houston on April 6, 2019 as a part of the Houston chapter of Latino Art Now!, a national conference designed to explore the richness and depth of Latinx art. ŌME is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

http://danielariojas.com/

About Daniela Riojas:

Daniela Riojas is an interdisciplinary artist from the U.S. - Mexico border and a current Joan-Wich Fellow and MFA Candidate at the University of Houston, TX. She specializes in photography, self-portraiture, performance, film, installation, and music. Her work explores themes of reconnection to indigeneity, ritual, de-colonizing landscapes and the body, bi-cultural identity as it pertains to mestizaje, Native and Jungian spiritual philosophy, and female trauma. She studied English-Creative Writing at The University of San Antonio, TX and also attended the Vermont Studio Center Residency Program in the winter of 2013. She is a Surdna Foundation grant recipient, a former artist-in-residence at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center through the Artist Lab Fellowship Program, and was awarded a grant for Media Arts from the Cultural and Creative Development Department of the City of San Antonio through the Artist Foundation in 2015. She is a recipient of the Support for Artists and Creative Individuals grant awarded by the Houston Arts Alliance 2019 for her performance OME, debuting April 2019 at Site Gallery.