We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Fred Villanueva . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Fred below.
Fred , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Artist Statement Sylvan I-30 Underpass Beautification
About the Project
In November 2019, after several years of determined effort with the City of Dallas and the Texas Department of Transportation, Kate Bouchillon approached artist Fred Villanueva of Ash Studios to create a concept image that would embody the project’s intent:
Revitalize and beautify the northern gateway entrance to the Oak Cliff neighborhood and southern entrance to the West Dallas community.
Promote a greater sense of neighborhood connectivity to commerce and the Coombs Creek Trail
Improve walkability experience for pedestrians and cyclists
Design a sense of place through culture and storytelling
Working within the collaborative spirit that Ash Studios embodies, Fred Villanueva teamed up with artist friend and resident of Oak Cliff, JM Rizzi. Rizzi is deeply familiar and connected to this site and its potential for renewal, as are the nearby residents. Together, the artistic duo believed that the existing space had immense opportunity to be more welcoming to the neighborhood, and thus the creative process began.
With the events surrounding COVID-19, Rizzi and Villanueva recognized the unique opportunity that art and nature offered the community. More people were taking to the streets by foot or bike and discovering wonderful surprises in their own backyards. Rizzi and Villanueva felt called to project the confidence and resilience Dallas has shown as a city in the face of COVID-19. They wanted to create a monumental series that reflects a blend of what makes Dallas a great place to live in the 21st century. In addition, this project is meant to showcase the vibrant culture in the Oak Cliff neighborhood.
Visual culture was key to realizing and communicating the message of healing, hope, and strength. It could share the idea that when a community works together, positive change can happen. The artists, project concept, and project organizers were a reflection of this goal.
Urbanism and Nature
Pedestrians and automobiles participate in traffic and that is a reflection of the daily life of urban Dallas. Few of these passersby would fail to notice the profound change of environmental settings and contrast that exist on either side of the underpass.
This underpass could be imagined as a transformative passage, corridor, or conduit from the exciting rhythm of developed urban reality to the peaceful, residential and natural environment that thousands of residents pass through on their daily routine.
The Sylvan I-30 Underpass Beautification aimed to capture the metamorphosis from city to nature, and back again. Rizzi and Villanueva saw this as an opportunity to share a vision of how great art can be a symbol for positive, optimistic messaging. Most importantly, the project would provide aesthetic value to the residents, visitors, and local businesses.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
About The Artists | Collaboration is the Key Teamwork in our Community
JM Rizzi, Fred Villanueva and Ash Studios
JM Rizzi and Fred Villanueva are collaborating artists and represent a unique team: Rizzi is a new, now native Dallasite from NYC, while Fred is originally from Oak Cliff, after having lived and worked as an artist in NYC. Both bring the experience of the energy of the city, as well as the mature artistic recognition that arts and culture are important for families and individuals. Both are exciting participants in the development of Street Art, Visual Culture, and the ability of design to impact daily life. Additionally, Fred’s experiences have led him to believe that in the Urban Environment, community, collaboration, and access to the arts are paramount goals. Art should be for everybody.
Founded by Fred Villanueva and Darryl Ratcliff in 2012, Ash Studios is a longtime cultural resource for the diverse artistic community of Dallas, and is a recognized crossroads for creating community among artists.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Our mission is to encourage interracial and inter-generational dialogue and collaborations between creatives and citizens, to empower creatives to have a voice in public life, and to promote and create opportunities for economic self-determination for creatives.
Initiated in 2012 by artists Darryl Ratcliff and Fred Villanueva, Ash Studios has already impacted over ten thousand citizens and creatives in Dallas through events, think tanks, classes, exhibitions, activist campaigns, and site-specific work. Ash Studios is fully owned by creatives, and serves as a bastion against gentrification in the South Dallas area. We value and model racial equity and accessibility, and believe that art is a public good.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Ash Studios has positioned itself to become a major collaborative, community arts platform, not simply for the artists who bring the ideas to the community, but the community nearer to learning from all the arts, which is the essence of arts advocacy and activism. The vision is that the community then takes learning out into the broader context of living, which increases the potential for learning through art in the home, in the family, and in every relevant aspect of society.
In Dallas, the mere act of being a Black or Latino contemporary artist is a political act. Acknowledging this is crucial to the understanding that through every artistic medium we have the potential to change the life of youth and adult communities by fostering and sharing a love of the arts with all. 
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ashstudios.org
- Instagram: @ash_studios
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/AshStudiosDallas
- Other: Texasmural.com SculptureStudio.org
Image Credits
Photos and graphics by Fred Villanueva ©