The Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition Favianna Rodriguez: Power From The Roots. Favianna Rodriguez is an Oakland-based activist and artist beloved for her work tied to social justice movements, such as her iconic image of a butterfly with the text “Migration is Beautiful” mobilized in support of migrant justice. In recent years, Rodriguez has focused on figurative work related to plants, animals and climate justice. This exhibition asks: how do portraits of species relate to an ecology of social movements? The show is organized around local species impacted by climate change including coastal redwoods, mountain lions, coho salmon and butterflies, among others. These portraits of species are in dialogue with activist posters, demonstrating how social issues are fundamentally intertwined with environmental justice. For example, a collaged portrait of coho salmon, a keystone species that the Ohlone people relied on for food, will be surrounded by posters about decolonization and food justice. Viewers will explore activism from the roots- both in terms of systemic issues impacting our world today and the actual roots of the trees that inhabit our shared local ecosystem.

We are all in this together: Favianna Rodriguez and the ecology of social movements

POWER FROM THE ROOTS: In Conversation with Favianna Rodriguez

Art and culture surround us all the time. They shape our identity and forge our collective imagination. Cultural change precedes political change, and therefore, we must build vibrant cultural practices that inspire new ways of thinking and catalyze justice and solutions. Favianna will give a dynamic lecture about how art can inspire, educate, and help spur the imagination toward social change. She will show examples of her art over the last decade, and speak about how her work addresses racial justice, climate justice, migrant rights, and gender justice. She will also talk about and show examples of the evolution of her creative practice in printmaking and public art.

February 7, 2024, 4–6 PM

Stevenson Event Center

We will be serving pizza at the event (until we run out) and we will have affordable prints of Favianna’s artwork for purchase.

Co-Sponsored by:

The Humanities Institute * Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas * Institute of Arts and Sciences * Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives

Please email epsgall@ucsc.edu for more information.

Directions and Parking The Stevenson Event Center is located in the Stevenson College Courtyard. The closest parking lots can be found at Cowell and Stevenson Colleges, Lots 107, 109, 110, and 108. Slightly farther parking can be found at East Field House, Lot 103A, and Merrill College, Lot 119. Here is a map of the parking lots at UCSC. For more information about parking on campus, please refer to the Transportation and Parking Services website.