Kuetzpal Vasquez is a home girl from San Anto, a multimedia XicanX feminist artivist. Observing the Chicano Movement through the lens of a child has shaped her life, work, and the creation of her cartoon character, Citlali, La XicanX Superhero. She comes from a long line of curanderas (native healers), but her method of healing is through her art. She has practiced art as healing for over 15 years.

Kuetzpal obtained a BA from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She studied painting at the School of the Chicago Art Institute and received a certificate in traditional culture from Universidad Nahuatl in Ocotepec, Mexico.

Kuetzpal’s artistic concentration and research remains in exploring the perception of cultural hybridity. Her research converges on three main foci:

(1) Postmodern and global approaches to contemporary art,

(2) Indigenous (i.e., Native American, Chicana and African Spirituality) process concerning ecological balance through traditional medium and,

(3) Xicanx feminist perspective in creating characters that contribute to academic tenacity through multi-generational relationships.

·       She re-imagines patriarchal cultural myths that position womxn as unscrupulous characters through a Xicanx feminist lens and the lack of Xicanx and womxn of color representation in the arts and education.

·       In 2019, she exhibited and presented her work Citlali: Cortando Nopales y Hechando Tortillas en Outer Space at the Queens Museum in Queens, New York and presented Arroz Con Pollo: The Influence of Basquiat on My Work at the Brandt Museum in New York City. 

·       In 2022, Kuetzpal presented her work at the exhibition XicanX Speaks at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. During her time Vancouver, she also presented in Diálogo: Conversation About Latin American Art in North America at VLACC Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre.

·       The XicanX Exhibition will be on exhibit in San Antonio in June of this year 2024 at the Blue Star Art Complex and will move on to Guadalajara the following year.

·       Kuetzpal has exhibited in over 100 exhibitions nationally and internationally. Even though she is in the process of retiring from the university setting, she will continue to be an educator while bringing her secondary career as a professional artist to the forefront.

Kuetzpal is a mujerista interested in a feminist economy. She believes a feminist economy is important to give students and community a more objective perspective to the inequity of the world, especially the art world, as well as penetrating the patriarchal system in place. She operates several businesses connected to the arts. In art school, rarely do they teach students how to make money from their art. She offers students and the community a XicanX feminist perspective and way to economic sustainability in the arts. 

Kuetzpal will be initiating a series of paintings highlighting the cultural contributions of Mexican Americans to the City of Seguin while simultaneously conveying the torment they underwent at the hands of the Texas Rangers. This work is made possible through an arts grant funded by the NEA National Endowment for the Arts granted to El Teatro de Arte de Juan Seguin and the City of Seguin.

Artist & Curriculum Vitae

Education

2000 University of Wisconsin Madison_Master of Fine Arts 2D & 3D

2000 Universidad Nahuatl, Ocotepec, Morelos Painting & Traditional Culture 

1997 The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Advanced Painting Institute

1995 Texas Woman’s University, Denton Bachelors of Arts – Magna Cum Laude 

Teaching Experience

2024 Professor Emeritus, Our Lady of the Lake University OLLU, San Antonio, TX SAT

2006 - 2024 Associate Professor & Visual Arts Program Head, Our Lady of the Lake University OLLU, SAT

2011-2013 Education Director, Healing Arts Program, Bihl Haus Arts, SAT

2006-2007 Visiting Artist, Healing Arts Program, Jump Start Performance Company, SAT

Professional Experience

2024 Our Town: Stories of Mexican American Contributions and Tribulations. through a series of nine paintings. Made possible by an NEA National Endowment for the Arts granted to El Teatro de Arte de Juan Seguin and the City of Seguin.

2021 Domestic Violence Art Project, Illustrator. Metropolitan Health District, SAT

2018-present Business Owner, Puro Corazon Art Online Store 

2016 -present Business Owner, Corazones On Fire: Painting With a Cultural Edge, SAT

2010 – 2011 Café Owner, Cafe Citlali @ Gallista Gallery, SAT

2007 – 2009 Visual Arts Program Coordinator, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, SAT

2002 – 2003 Visual Arts Art Director, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, SAT

Curatorial Experience

2019 El Mero Hueso Photo Exhibition, OLLU, SAT

2018 Mexican American/Chicana Photo Exhibition, OLLU, SAT

2017 On & Off Fred Studio Tour: OLLU Alumnae Exhibit, Corazones On Fire Studio, SAT

Selected Exhibitions and Projects

2024 XicanX: Dreamers & Changemakers. The Contemporary at the Blue Star, SAT

2022 XicanX: Dreamers & Changemakers. Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada 

2022 Scent of Magnolias on a Hot Summer Night, Public Work: Poet’s Plaza, SAT

2021. Domestic Violence Art Project, Metropolitan Health District, SAT

2020 We Want As Much: Politits Juried Art Exhibit. At the Yard Art Collective, Rochester, NY. 

2019 Mundos Alternos: Art & Science Fiction in the Americas. Queens Museum, Queens, NY. 

2018 Café Negro Mestizaje: La Tercer Raiz. XXII Scientific Conference on African American Social and Cultural Anthropology. Museo Casa de África, Centro Histórico de La Habana Vieja, Habana, Cuba. 

2018 Voz: Selections from the UTSA Art Collection Exhibition. Centro de Artes Gallery, SAT

2018 Pride Exhibition. Plaza de Armas Gallery, SAT

2017-2018 Mundos Alternos; Art and Science Fiction in the Americas. University of California Riverside. Part of the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA

2017 Mujeres de Maiz: 20 Years of ARTivism Retrospect L.A., La Plaza de Culturas y Artes, Los Angeles, CA

Selected Presentations and Publications

2022 Presentation: XicanX Speaks. Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
2022 Panelist: Diálogo: Conversation About Latin American Art in North America. VLACC Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada 

2020 Presentation: Decolonization Not the Same as Diversification, OLLU,, SAT

2019 Presentation: The Influence of Basquiat on My Work. Queens Museum, Queens, NY 

2019 Presentation: Arroz Con Pollo y Nopalitos: Basquiat and I. Brandt Museum, NYC, NY

2018 Presenter/ Exhibitor: XXII Taller Científico de Antropología Social y Cultural Afroamericana, Museo Casa de África, Centro Histórico de La Habana Vieja. Habana, Cuba. 

2018 Presenter: Southwest Fulbright Symposium, University of Texas UTSA. SAT 

2017 Panelist/Presenter: Mundos Alternos, San Antonio Book Festival, Central Library. Greg Barrios, John Philip Santos, Cathryn Merla Watson, and Ben Olguin. 

Professional Affiliations and Honors

2024 Moody Scholar, OLLU & University of Incarnate Word UIW, SAT

2020-present Board Member San Anto Cultural Arts, SAT

2019-present Chair, Advisory Board P.E.A.C.E. Initiative, Putting an End to Abuse through Community Effort, SAT

2019 Recipient Hearst Research and Development Grant, OLLU, SAT

2018 -present Member Women and Their Work, Austin, Texas  ATX

2018 -present Member Texas Association of Schools of Art 

2017 Recipient Hearst I Research and Development Grant, OLLU, SAT 

2017 Recipient Flashman Foundation Grant, OLLU, SAT 

2017 Recipient At Home in the World Grant, OLLU, SAT

2017 Recipient La Cosecha Seed Grant, OLLU, SAT