2024 BANFF Spring Visual Artist in Residence
There are so many people who have helped me reach this destination, MNRHPA aka Banff, Alberta is a magnificent site to
be able to create several bodies of work during my 5 week stay. Even with 16 hours of daylight, for me, there was still not
enough time to cover all the ground within proximity of Sleeping Buffalo Mountain. I was fortunate enough to marvel the
northern lights - Aurora Borealis during the first week of the residency which initiated the first body of
digital photographs, parallax animations and video works.
HYPERALLERGIC REVIEW
by Nancy Zastudil
Porras is an interdisciplinary Chicano/Coahuiltecan artist whose work is tied to his lived experiences of connection within communities and to nature — for instance, his reflection upon recurrences like that of the smelt’s journey to the Smith River. He literally and figuratively frames the exhibition with rasquachismo art, using abandoned silkscreen frames and film developer hangers, mirroring the resiliency of community and tradition he portrays in his images. The approach is one of resourcefulness and imagination, seeing value in that which has otherwise been abandoned or cast aside.
Snaring Workshop April 2024
I’m delighted to share this wonderful intertribal collaboration between @sacnahc , @solcollective and Luna Morrell for assisting in developing/coordinating the snaring workshop this week April 15-17 2024. Snaring is the process of imaginative trapping. Throughout the workshop we shared our thoughts, ideas and experiences while learning how to work with knots. Our conversations led into discussions on Indigeneity and retaining cultural practices with accessible materials. Netting, gifted as medicine, has assisted my artistic growth in overcoming unsettled situations throughout life. In sharing knowledge, each participant engaged in snaring creativity, pushing new concepts and ideas.