Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hugo Gonzalez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hugo, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I would like to say the majority of creative work I do is meaningful as I try to center my practice in socially and community-engaged perspectives. A recent highlight though I would have to say has been my work with Mujeres de la Tierra. In collaboration with an international team of teachers, artists, and activists, I co-designed this digital zine of indigenous wisdom and ancestral food practices. Located in the periphery of Mexico City, Mujeres de la Tierra is a collective of indigenous Nahuatl women who focus on the vital connections between regenerative agriculture, personal & public health, and the preservation of Mexico’s deep history of communal land tenure. This zine serves to document and gather their philosophies and recipes on cultivating traditional crops, cooking for their communities, and preserving ancestral knowledge. I also played a part in designing a document that was to aid raise funding to buy land for a women’s community center, the ancestral zine, and a series of hands-on indigenous agriculture workshops. The work meant a lot to me because not only did we reach our fundraising goal, but we also participated in disseminating this important knowledge internationally. As someone with roots in Mexico and a deep commitment to building connections beyond borders this project is one I’m incredibly proud of.

Hugo, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hello! My name is Hugo and I’m a Mexican-Colombian-American multidisciplinary designer and artist whose work tends to orbit around themes of culture, community, and conservation. I use digital media through a chicanx framework to create connections beyond colonial borders and imagine alternative futures. I love alternative education initiatives and am an alumnus of programs like The School for Poetic Computation, Materia Abierta, and Useful School.

My work leans toward interactive visual experiences, spanning experimental websites, exhibition design, and printed material as a storytelling medium for marginalized communities. I’m most proud of my cultural fluidity and background that informs how I communicate with community in a meaningful and engaged way. I mostly work with grassroots organizations, global nonprofits, and cultural institutions.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I’m first in my family to graduate highschool, to attend & graduate college. Despite this creating incredible connections that brought me to the work I’m proud of today. And maintaining a commitment to people in the communities like the one I come from.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

University Job boards! They are generally open to the public and include things like grant funding, research funding, and international opportunities.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://graphichugo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hugo.agz/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Twitter: N/A

Image Credits

Hugo Gonzalez