@ritagarciasindelarart • tinystudioschicago.com •
5 Questions:
1. I am third-generation on both sides, so like a lot of people who are a little removed from the family immigration story, I didn’t know or think very deeply about our origin story for many years. Now that I have asked questions and done research, I know that four of my great-grandparents left Mexico (N.L.) in search of work and a new start, and my other four great-grandparents left Europe for basically the same reasons. One great-grandmother emigrated to escape heartache.
2. I was raised by grandparents in Chicago, and I was close to my other grandparent in San Antonio–and now they are all gone. My connection to my two cultures was very much tied to them, but I do my best to keep close ties. My family, including extended family, is very culturally diverse.
3. Home has always been Chicago, although San Antonio also feels like a home, and I try to go back at least every couple years. The relationship I have to my backgrounds has changed every decade I’ve been alive, because I have only grown more informed about both my cultures and more able to learn new things by participating in events, meeting new people, and contributing something.
4. For me, they’re not competing, I feel them all the time in the present, which has made me feel very lucky. I’m planning on working in some capacity in cultural heritage research management; I’m currently getting my MLIS, working at an archive, and will be looking for a job soon.
5. My hope is centered around helping people save their memories. I want people to be curious about who and where they came from and be proud of their culture/s. My hope is also centered around people gaining empathy for others who are migrating for any reason and respecting their sacrifices. I love art, cultural events like this one, and partnerships between cultural organizations and communities.
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Bio | Art Statement
Rita Garcia Šindelář was born in the Pilsen neighborhood and raised in Chicago. She is interested in making art, history, cultural heritage preservation, oral history storytelling, and genealogy. She lives in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.
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Two Assemblage Cabinet pieces with photos, flowers, votives, and paper scroll. The cabinets house photos of two of my great-grandmothers who emigrated to the US. One grandmother came up from Mexico to San Antonio, and the other came from Czechoslovakia and settled in Pilsen.
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