Colors of Influence is in Chicago this week, attending the Society for Diversity's "Diversity 3.0" annual conference. Looking forward to networking and learning with diversity and inclusion leaders and practitioners from various industries, eager to take part in best practices in creating and nurturing communities on inclusion in workplaces across the country.
Before the deep dive into D&I innovation begins, I had a bit of time to travel to the Pilsen neighborhood in southwest Chicago. Harboring many generations of immigrants, Pilsen is home to one of the largest Mexican American communities in the U.S. Amid the murals and street fruit stands, it is unfortunate to note the changing nature of the neighborhood due to gentrification. Coffee shops that seem to cater to visitors and tourists are in sharp contrast with homegrown panaderias and paleterias.
A visit to the National Museum of Mexican Art is always an opportunity to renew the spirit. Since opening its doors in 1987, the Museum has showcased 220 exhibitions that exemplify a broad spectrum of artistic expressions from both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border.
Artistic statement from the museum's organizers:
Regardless of your background, a trip to the National Museum of Mexican Art is in order, if you're planning a trip to Chicago. The two pieces below are part of the Museum's "Memoria Presente: An Artistic Journey" exhibit, which runs through August 13, 2017.
Before the deep dive into D&I innovation begins, I had a bit of time to travel to the Pilsen neighborhood in southwest Chicago. Harboring many generations of immigrants, Pilsen is home to one of the largest Mexican American communities in the U.S. Amid the murals and street fruit stands, it is unfortunate to note the changing nature of the neighborhood due to gentrification. Coffee shops that seem to cater to visitors and tourists are in sharp contrast with homegrown panaderias and paleterias.
A visit to the National Museum of Mexican Art is always an opportunity to renew the spirit. Since opening its doors in 1987, the Museum has showcased 220 exhibitions that exemplify a broad spectrum of artistic expressions from both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border.
Artistic statement from the museum's organizers:
The National Museum of Mexican Art defines Mexican culture as sin fronteras (without borders), and our programs and exhibitions capture the wide range of Mexican cultural expressions and art forms, from ancient to modern and on both sides of the border. We represent the Mexican community from its own point of view and in its own voice.A bit of a side note: as a Filipino American, the journey of my people shares many parallels with Mexican Americans. Although we do not share a border with the United States, Filipinos and Mexicans are inextricably linked in history through Spanish colonization. The Manila galleon trade spanned for over 200 years, bringing not only goods and workers, but the exchange of cultures, joy and strife between colonized peoples, at once separated and joined by an ocean. Fueling the labor market in the United States, Filipinos and Mexicans walked in the same picket lines, demanding equitable wages and fair labor practices.
Regardless of your background, a trip to the National Museum of Mexican Art is in order, if you're planning a trip to Chicago. The two pieces below are part of the Museum's "Memoria Presente: An Artistic Journey" exhibit, which runs through August 13, 2017.
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| "La Verdad Es ..." (The Truth Is...) by Sam Kirk |
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| "El Nombre Del Progreso" (In the Name of Progress) by Alfonso "Piloto" Nieves |