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

Hi Kristen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Once I graduated from high school in 2010, I knew I wanted to pursue my AA in art and hopefully transfer to a university. I had enrolled the summer after graduation and was eager to start my next chapter in community college. Unfortunately, it would take a few years for me to return to that dream.

Most creatives who pursue a degree in the arts are often asked why they are pursuing a field that does not generate a lot of wealth; the question itself almost acts like a deterrence to scare creatives away from something that is seen as financially unreliable. This deterrence led me to pursue other academic paths, I saw the arts as too risky, especially since I was not living at home and working part-time to sustain myself. But as time went on the more unhappy I was, not just academically but in the workplace. I found myself drawing everywhere I went, my heart was in it but I had not yet made that leap to pursue art.

After several years, I decided to complete my general requirements and take as much art classes as I can in order to get my AA and pursue my Bachelor’s in Fine Arts. This generally was a risk in terms of the cost but I knew going into this field I would have to be determined and passionate but most importantly, that this pursuit would be my investment in myself. It has quite literally paid off, I have been making art a priority and have been able to achieve what I thought was impossible ten years ago; I transferred from community college to university and graduated from my dream school.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am born and raised in Commerce, CA which is at the edge of East Los Angeles and the entry point into South East Los Angeles; it is a small town in a big city. I am proud to be from where I am and to have lived across various places in LA while pursuing my academic and professional career.

Most of my life I have been working and going to school in order to pursue my passion as well as sustain a living. My strongest trait is determination and endurance. I see my academic journey as a testament to that because it has been a non-traditional one. I have worn this as a badge of honor.

There is a misconception when it comes to school, that it must be completed within a specific allotted time; 2 years at community college and 2 at university or university after high school. This narrative has crossed my. mind but instead of shame it only made me more determined to continue going to school despite the odds. Art has always been an escape and resource for me to release the thoughts rummaging throughout my head, it has grown just as I have.

Academia and my accomplishments in school are especially important to me but I also see this journey as one of self-determination and to show myself that once I have my mind set on something, I can achieve it. It has also made me incredibly resourceful not only in terms of pursuing a degree but in my artistic practice; financial precarity was never a deterrent only a problem to circumvent.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the ability to create my own world and dialogue with myself through visual language. Art for me has always been a therapeutic source for me, it has allowed me to use images when words cannot be articulated to describe my thoughts. It provides a place that is wholly my own and that I can resume dialogue with at any time. That is first and foremost what I find so enriching about art is that it is the artist who crafts a space with no judgement or prejudice against themselves but is a space to flesh ideas out. Sure, artists sometimes are our own worst critics but there is something deeply special about the ability to sprout a tangible work from a thought that existed in the abstract. No one has the ability to take that away because an artist will always find a way to create.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Art needs to be valued, plain and simple, there is such a deficit in investing in art in society and because of this, resources are sparse. Art is always first to be taken away and it is always thought of last. How is it that people can enjoy going to museums, watching film, engaging in culture and not invest in the very people who create culture? Art is not just the artist and what they personally have to say but are artifacts of the now.

It is so important to be able to have an environment for artists of any age to be able to thrive, practice their craft, and have their work be appreciated and valued. We need to have affordable spaces, time to make work, and investment in programs in schools.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: la_kristen_virgen
• Other: Buy Me a Coffee: La Kristen Virgen

Image Credits
Joshua Velasquez (gallery shot of myself in front of work at These Days Gallery), Stephen Zeigler (Install picture of work at These Days Gallery)