Broad experience in arts and culture administration, education, philanthropy and organizational sustainability position me to continue to lead initiatives that will create a more just world.

Episode 5: Our Voices and Bones in These Bricks - the Role of Art and Narrative in Community Building and Displacement In our final episode exploring Gentrification, Displacement and Community Building, we’ll discuss the importance of Art and Narrative in how we tell the stories of who we are and what we want to be. What is the role of art in our neighborhoods? Who gets to decide what is installed? Who gets to tell the stories? How integral is art and narrative in how we are being defined and represented? Join Marcela Garcia, Adam Carr, Antoine Carter and Fatima Laster for a fascinating conversation. Hosted by Emilio De Torre.

In Their Words is an audio archive exploring how history is visualized as a membrane that connects, divides, filters and binds. They made a deliberate choice to give prominence to women from diverse backgrounds and stand in for marginalized communities and pay homage to their crucial role in this nation’s story. These works address the slippage of time, inter-connectedness, and the burden of responsibility.

Behind the Art – Marcela Garcia’s tribute to her grandmother and her identity, November 2014, in partnership with Walker’s Point Center for the Arts‘ Behind the Art (BtA) series: a blog series that

uses imagery, audio, video and text to tell stories about artists and their artwork.

● Preserving Our Vitality: Commemorating 40 Years of Hmong Women’s Sacrifices and Contribution to the U.S.A. for My Sister’s Story project, March 2015, As an affiliate artist with From Here to Her Artist Collective I collaborated with Tammie Xiong, Executive Director of the Hmong American Women’s Association (HAWA), Inc. This piece honors the resilience of Hmong women and commemorates 40 years of their sacrifices and contributions to this country. The border pieces incorporated into this piece are contributed by domestic violence support group members. Thismodern rendition of folktale tapestry depicts the vibrancy of tradition, transformation, and transcendence.

● Part One: Look Within & Part Two: Outwards, August 2015, Two part photo essay about growing up & living on Cesar Chavez Drive in partnership with Milwaukee Neighborhood News Services’

Neighborhood Lens.

● Faculty In Residence, Iowa N.E.W. Leadership, Summer Institute, May 18 – 22, 2020, A 5-day residential institute designed to empower women across the political spectrum and increase the participation of underrepresented groups in all sectors of public leadership. The Institute experience is built around a challenging curriculum that develops knowledge and skill in key areas, including: strategic communication, policy analysis, philanthropy, negotiation, community development, professional sustainability, relationship-building, productive engagement with difference, conflict and collaboration.

● Presenter Justice in Action Conference, March 21, 2020 | 10:00 a.m. – 2:10 pm, Art Expression Project Raices Revolucionarias R.A.R.A.S. (Marcela “Xela” Garcia, Andrea (Andy) Lira Landa, Cecilia Tejeda, and Jeanette Arellano)

● Presenter, Session: Ensuring the right to health through participatory approaches, Program: Community-Based Public Health Caucus, Day: Monday, October 31, 2016, Expression, cultural reaffirmation and advocacy: The Milwaukee Diabetes and Oral Health Art Gallery

● Curator and Founder, An artist’s message, Milwaukee Diabetes and Oral Health Art Gallery, November 2015, Sisters Dina and Marcela “Xela” Garcia found a nontraditional way to deliver information on how diabetes affects oral health in the Mexican-American community: They created an art gallery.