Christensen Caballero
The University of Central Arkansas will host Jonathan Christensen Caballero as an artist-in-residence from Sept. 16 to Sept. 20, 2024. The artist will return to UCA from Nov. 3 to Nov. 8, 2024, to complete the residency.
The Indiana University Bloomington-educated sculpture and ceramic artist will participate in two public events. The first one, presented on Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. in the Windgate Center lecture hall 167, will be a panel discussion titled “Harvesting Change: Art Activism and Latin American Labor in Arkansas.” Other panelists include Magaly Licolli (co-founder of Venceremos, a worker-based organization in Arkansas whose mission is to ensure the human rights of poultry workers), Benjamin Garner (Independent filmmaker and associate professor of marketing at UCA), and Alejandro González Landeros (assistant professor of Spanish at UCA).
The second public event, presented on Nov. 7 at 6 p.m., in the Windgate Center lecture hall 167, will be an artist talk about his work, which will be on display at the Windgate Center Gallery beginning Sept. 3 and on view through Oct. 4 (gallery hours: M-F, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.).
“Our students and our community will benefit from seeing his work in the Windgate Gallery as well as interacting with him in person through various artist talks and student workshops,” said faculty sponsor and Department of Art and Design Associate Chair Liz Smith.
Caballero will visit the Central American Literature class (Sept. 17, 10:50 a.m. to 12:05 p.m., Irby 204) and the Latin American Cultures class (Sept 18, 9-9:50 a.m.) in the School of Language and Literature. He will also work with ceramics and sculpture students in the Department of Art and Design during both visits (Sept. 16, Sept. 18, Nov. 4, and Nov. 6, 2-2:40 p.m., Windgate 3D Building 112).
Caballero works at the Kansas City Art Institute as a Sculpture Shop Technician and teaches sculpture. His mixed-media work focuses on the human figure and Latin American laborers in the U.S. As Smith explains, “His work is powerful in the way it speaks to both the challenges and the beauty of the Latino experience in our country, an experience we should all try to understand.”
This residency is sponsored by the Department of Art and Design in collaboration with the School of Language and Literature.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024-25, the UCA Artists-in-Residence program is funded by UCA arts fees with additional support from Engage Management and Pyramid Art, Books, and Custom Framing. These events are free to UCA students and open to the public. No tickets are required. Events are located on the UCA campus, 201 Donaghey Ave, Conway, AR 72035. Visit the UCA Artist in Residence program for more information or contact Gayle Seymour, associate dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at (501) 450-3293; gayles@uca.edu.
