Statement

My work explores and questions knowledge and relationships created through socially-created boundaries. Trained in graphic arts, my practice moves from dialogue to visual representation finding a middle ground of engagement in my professional labor in education. As the son of a first generation college graduate, knowledge sharing has centered around my professional and artistic career; my practice continues to cross organizing, education, mentoring–encompassing graphics, installation, photography, and performance. It is important to recognize the uniqueness of our experiences, culture, and layers of experiences that have shaped me, and the similarities to which we are all shaped.

Having worked in community-based research to academic and admission counseling have influenced my engagement and ways I seek to infuse contemporary art and practices with in, and outside of, education. I have come to recognize art as a vehicle for knowledge transfer and learning as well as its influence as an agent of social inquiry and change.

Bio

Mario Mesquita is an interdisciplinary-socially engaged artist based in Southern California. His work examines relationships, identity, knowledge sharing, and the social boundaries created within the context community spectrums through social practices, dialogue, and visual representation. Mario has worked with the city of Santa Monica, exhibited at San Diego Art Institute, Museum of Latin American Art, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, presented at the Americans for the Arts Conference; and as a founding member of the Michelada Think Tank, presented at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Open Engagement Conference, as well as Common Field. Currently as Education Manager at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, he coordinates and manages partnerships with local area schools and public programming for opportunities of learning, and mentoring the Teen Advisory Group. He holds an MFA in Public Practice from Otis College of Art and Design and most recently a fellow of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture Leadership Program.