PictoGraff: The Art of Warprayer highlights the historical value of wall art and expressions of the Indigenous mind. Join us for two days celebrating arrowsoul art in Las Cruces.
The event will begin on Friday, May 5 during the First Friday Downtown Arts Ramble with live screen-printing and art demonstration, and a preview of the imagery planned for the following day.
On Saturday, May 6, from 9am-12:30pm, the courtyard between the Museum of Art and Branigan Cultural Center at the north end of the downtown mall will be transformed into an art studio for aerosol, marker, and screen-print artists. Join local artist Saba and other arrowsoul artists as they perform a live art demonstration. Come meet the arrowsoul artist Carl Little, Jeanette Rocha, Joe Stacey, Leon Miramontes, and Anahy Nunez. The artist will collaborate on a large-scale art piece communicating images of place, belonging, and community through an indigenous lens, as they have in previous murals.
In addition to watching the artist at work, there will be a chance to participate in the creation of commemorative community artwork. Culture Club will be present providing art activities that will complement the theme of vibrant street art, featuring the techniques, motifs, and styles seen in urban context. The Culture Club activities will be for families of all ages to take part in. Presentations on the history of graffiti art will be ongoing throughout the day in the courtyard between the Museum of Art and the Branigan Cultural Center. Bring your own t-shirt to have the events logo screened onto the shirt, or be among the first 100 people to claim our own numbered, limited edition poster.
Arrowsoul is a mix of arrow and soul, the arrow is used in letter bending stemming from early New York wild styles that a lot of today’s pieces still represent. The arrow is also used by all Indigenous peoples around the world for hunting and fighting. The soul is reunited with our ancestors through a spray can, in the feeling and craft needed for the act of painting and expressing.