Tanya Aguiñiga (born 1978, in San Diego, California) is a Los Angeles–based

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

, designer, and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

Early life and education

Although she was born in the United States, Aguiñiga spent her childhood living in Tijuana, Mexico. From ages 4 to 18, she travelled several hours daily across the border to attend school in San Diego, an experience that would influence her later life and work. She went on to receive a BA in Applied Design from San Diego State University and an MFA in furniture design from Rhode Island Institute of Design.

Art and design career

Aguiñiga began designing furniture in 1997 while she was still an undergraduate student. Her first design job was working as a designer and fabricator off-camera for the DIY Network show called ''Freeform Furniture.'' Throughout her career, Aguiñiga's work has taken many forms but remains generally textile-centric, often combining modern design with elements of traditional craft technique and activism. Using a range of natural materials from beeswax to wool to human hair, Aguiñiga crafts furniture, textiles, wearable pieces, sculptures, and site-specific installations. In addition to designing furniture, jewelry, and other small scale pieces, she has extended her design mediums to fiber and creates weavings with materials such as woven jute, wool, silk, and cotton. She manages a team of nearly all female assistants in the creation of large format wall , woven hangings, by commission. Aguiñiga's work has been featured in the PBS series ''

Craft in America Craft in America, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Carol Sauvion in 2003, and based in Los Angeles, California. Its mission is to document and advance contemporary American craft and traditional craft practices through educ ...

'' and in a 2011 site-specific exhibition at the Craft and Folk Art Museum, among many other venues.

Fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

Ulla Johnson Ulla Johnson is an American designer and owner of the eponymous clothing brand. Early life and education Her mother is Serbian and her father Danish; they are both archaeologists who met on a dig in Yugoslavia. Johnson was born and raised in Yor ...

, commissioned a piece by Aguiñiga for her shop in New York. From July 23 through September 17, 2016, Aguiñiga's "Teetering of the Marginal" accompanied pieces by Lenore Tawney and

Loie Hollowell Loie Hollowell (born 1983) is an American painter. She was born and raised in Northern California. She currently lives and works in New York City. Hollowell creates abstract biomorphic paintings that suggest spirituality and sexuality. Hollowell's ...

in a gallery exhibit titled ''3 Women''. The 1977 film ''

3 Women ''3 Women'' is a 1977 American psychological drama film written, produced, and directed by Robert Altman and starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule. It depicts the increasingly bizarre, mysterious relationship between a woman (Duva ...

'', written and directed by

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

and starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Janice Rule, provided inspiration to The Landing to gather the artists for the exhibit. In May through October 2018 Aguiñiga had a solo exhibition of her work at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City titled "Tanya Aguiñiga: Craft and Care". The show prominently featured her project AMBOS ("Art Made Between Opposite Sides"), that addresses life on the Mexican-American border. In Spanish "ambos" means both and according to the project's website the mission of AMBOS is to "express and document border emotion through art made on opposite sides by providing a platform to bi-national artists along the border." Her work was also featured in ''Disrupting Craft: Renwick Invitational 2018'' at the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

Renwick Gallery The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building that ...

. In 2021, Aguiñiga received the 26th Annual Heinz Award for the Arts. In early 2022, Aguiñiga lead a social justice focused

BIPOC The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

Exchange at the newly reopened Frieze Los Angeles. Aguiñiga, along with fourteen other artists of Latin American and Caribbean descent, was named Latinx Artists Fellows in 2022. The fellowship provides $50,000 and was funded by the Ford Foundation and the Mellon Foundation and the result of a collaboration of the US Latinx Art Forum and the New York Foundation of the Arts. Aguiñiga's work was also featured in the Armory Show in 2022 as it moved to the Javits Center. Her work, ''Metabolizing the Border'', was acquired by the

as part of the

's 50th Anniversary Campaign.

Activism

Aguiñiga is responsible for multiple "performance crafting" happenings, including tying herself to the Beverly Hills sign and weaving while wearing traditional Mexican garments. Having grown up on the U.S./Mexico boarder, Aguiñiga uses her life experiences in connection with her craft practice to promote collective creation within communities, spearheading art-based advocacy projects including the Border Art Workshop/Taler de Arte Fronterizo in Maclovio Rojas, Mexico, and AMBOS (Art Made Between Opposite Sides), spanning the US-Mexico border, which seeks to document the emotions of commuters crossing it and gives voice to bi-national artists.

Collections

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...

* Los Angeles County Museum of Art

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguiniga, Tanya Living people 1978 births Mexican women artists Artists from Baja California People from Tijuana Mexican activists Mexican women activists Women textile artists American artists of Mexican descent Mexican textile artists Women woodworkers American woodworkers American furniture makers American furniture designers