Emerging Artists Series is a free workshop led by regional emerging artists that takes place at Samuel Bak Museum: the Learning Center. The workshop, which runs from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M., will begin with a tour of the current exhibition followed by an art-making session. RSVP required. Free to the public.

March 23, 2024 - Multi-media artist Ana Luisa González studied Visual Arts and a Master's Degree in the History of Modern and Contemporary Art in México.  She is an artist who focuses her work on drawing and painting with mixed techniques that involve her interest and experience in the Conservation and Restoration of artistic work.

• González will lead a workshop on the theme of repair - Participants will explore the transformative qualities of gold leaf and how one can heal our pasts by finding brilliance in small details. (20 participants max)

April 27, 2024 – Aspen Monet Laboy is an interdisciplinary artist from Omaha, Nebraska working in poetry, glass sculpting, installation, and film photography. Exploring concepts of environmentalism, internal identity, and cultural heritage, they are influenced by nature, science, and philosophy. Their main focus is sculpting with words and fragments to express moments in time.

• Aspen M. Laboy will lead a workshop on identity and memory. Participants will explore how they form their concept of self individually and collectively through writing and the act of creation. You will explore through making mosaics the process of creating a visual memory of who you are. (20 participants max)

May 11, 2024 – Eduardo Gardea is a painter and mixed media artist who focuses on individual perspective and storytelling in his work. He seeks to communicate modern and historic stories of personal and societal struggle and victory.  Using a variety of mediums, Gardea summons a collective of ongoing ideas and feelings within the viewer.

• Gardea’s interactive workshop will offer participants the opportunity to reconceptualize how they participate and reflect on the creative act. Through movement, writing, and drawing, participants will work on the exchange of memory and discuss their hopes for their future selves. (20 participants max)

June 15, 2024 – Shawnequa Linder is a multi-disciplinary artist who explores in her work the intersection of color, texture, and emotion. With a passion for using bold palettes and unexpected materials, Shawnequa creates captivating pieces that invite the viewer to see the world in a new light. From painting/photography/mixed media to installations, Shawnequa’s approach experiments with form and function to push the boundaries of traditional art making.

• Linder’s workshop prompts participants to engage with historical traumas and offer alternative stories through interactive activities and discussions. Participants will explore how Robert Rauschenberg and Samuel Bak used collage and image layering, and then create their own collage to discuss collective effort of remembrance and reconciliation. (20 participants max)

June 22, 2024 – Hugo Zamorano is a muralist and teacher who focuses on intersecting histories, and how ideas and one’s environment build alternative narratives. His practice is always collaborative. He introduces participants to spray paint as well as the history of graffiti writing and street art.

• Zamorano will lead a workshop on spray paint and graffiti which will culminate with a collective act of creation that will tell the story of who the participants are. Through discussion of identity and exchange of memories, the group will choose a word that related their experience of the shared moment. (10 participants max)