Indigenous Futurism

QT Life is a place where you meet community leaders at the crossroads of social justice, health equity, and Queer life.

Host: Zef Llamas
Guest: Denise Silva
Producer: Xavier Mejia

Join host Zef Llamas in this thought-provoking podcast episode as he talks with the talented artist and storyteller Denise Silva. Denise, an indigenous femme mom, takes us on a journey through her life growing up in East Los Angeles and Riverside, California. After studying Design & Illustration at CSULA, Denise returned to the Inland Empire, where she put down strong family roots and immersed herself in the art community.

As a multimedia artist, Denise's work is best known for its bold figurative shapes and dream-like color stories. Her art is woman-centered and rich with sacred Mesoamerican symbols, often delving into divine feminine mysticism. Denise describes her art as "healing medicine for the soul, divine messages to find our way back home to ourselves."

In this episode, Denise also discusses the idea of Indigenous Futurism, which involves the integration of past, present, and future. As the curator of the Indigenous Futurism exhibit at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in Riverside, Denise brings a unique perspective to the conversation.

You can see Denise's project, "Grandmothers," a 40-foot mural painted on the west-facing wall of the Main Library in downtown Riverside. The mural represents the area's indigenous peoples, including Tongva, Luiseño, Cahuilla, and Serrano. This bold addition is worth visiting, and Denise's passion for the project shines through in the episode. Don't miss this engaging conversation with Denise Silva on the podcast. More about Denise: www.pearmama.com

Follow on Instagram: @pearmama

QT Life is brought to you by Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance and produced by mejia.tv 
 

Welcome to QT Life with Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance. In our fight for civil equality, the Queer & Trans community has positively transformed society at large, starting important cultural conversations around things like sex, sexuality, non-normative desire, diverse relationship models, harm reduction, health equity, collective care, gender norms, and more.

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