out of towner
Angélica Maria Millán Lozano : Resistance and Representation
by Leah Sandler
Angélica Maria Millán Lozano is in constant conversation with the women who came before her . Currently in her thesis semester of her MFA at Pacifi c Northwest College of Art , Lozano is a fi bers and performance artist whose multifaceted projects explore her Colombian and American identities , particularly driven by the experiences of Latina women in domestic roles . Lozano is the curatorial fellow for the Holt and Lodge galleries in Portland , Oregon , as well as the co-founder of CVLLEJERX , a people-of-colorfocused fashion collective based in Portland . The artist moved to Sanford , Florida from Bogotá , Colombia as a pre-teen , studying art at Seminole State College and going on to graduate from Stetson University with her Bachelor ’ s degree . An active member of Orlando ’ s art community before her move to Portland , Lozano ’ s work was featured in several notable
Blanca 2 , performance still local exhibitions , including the Sanford Project , Art in Odd Places , and the Housewifes Collective exhibition . Her projects are united
“ This is about generational trauma ...”
by their reverence of the women in her family , and an interest in making public the hidden stories of their lives . “ This is about generational trauma , and what it means to carry stories of your ancestors and see yourself in them , and to claim space for myself in a place where I have to choose between cultures .”
Late last year , Lozano attended Portland ’ s Women ’ s March Against Hate . She carried a banner with her — an enormous , portrait print on fabric of her grandmother , Blanca . For Lozano , her grandmother “ represents a resilience and strength , she represents housewives , and women in domestic roles , who are underrepresented and not often seen in public spaces .” The banner was sewn together with pieces of Blanca ’ s own garments , bleached , distressed , and adorned with rose thorns , attached to a pole of woven rose stems . Lozano marched with her grandmother , carrying her through the streets of Portland , “ resisting white feminism and mainstream feminism , which don ’ t address issues of women of color and immigrants .”
CVLLEJERX also occupies a space of resistance . A fashion collective co-founded by Lozano and fellow Portland artist and curator maximiliano , CVLLEJERX creates re-purposed , wearable art and fashion items , hosting shows and performances which question the white-washed bodies represented in main- photo by Rosemarie Romero
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