Grant Summary
Support for ongoing work.
Keywords
Artist Statement
I am a visual artist, writer, performer and activist. Born in Los Angeles and raised both in Mexico and L.A. My work often uses performance and writing to question institutional power, create collaborations and provoke dialogue among diverse communities. I use performance, writing and multimedia installations to redefine the role of an artist as a facilitator to engage people in critical discourse. Inspired by a personal narrative, I like to explore social, subcultural, marginalized and anthropological issues, often inviting communities and audiences participation into the work. Art Matters will be supporting my interest in social justice thru an exploration of food politics in my ongoing project “Prison Gourmet," an on-going multimedia project, made from California prisoner's’ commissary-food item recipes. I am excited to develop this project and work (for the first time) with the prison community outside of California.
  • Bucket Brigade: Hip Hop Opera 2011, Karla Diaz, Multimedia. Courtesy of the artist.

  • LACMA, prison gourmet performance 2010, Karla Diaz, Performance. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Prison Gourmet 2012, Karla Diaz, Installation. Courtesy of the artist.

  • MOCA Engagement Party, Dislexicon: A Word Performance 2009, Karla Diaz, Performance. Photo by Patrick Miller/ Courtesy of Slanguage Studio, MOCA.