Week 3

Victor Murillo

Art and Community

02/01/17

IDENTITY, PRIVILEDGE, AND OUR SOCIAL-POLITICAL CONTEXTS

Consider these texts together. How do these texts challenge previous positions/assumptions/biases/experiences you might have had in regards to your understanding of your own identity and privilege?

Reading both of the texts was great combination on readings on how to relook at my positions/assumptions/biases/experiences. In the paper about white privilege, it did not help me in understanding the privilege of a white American male. The paper instead it helped me look at all the disadvantages that come with being a person a color. These disadvantages helped me look at my past remember the times I was stopped or followed in a store or when I was traveling with a friend I had to wait since my friend was not a American citizen.

Why is an understanding of our identity and privilege (and/or perception of) essential factors in our creative work with communities?

My understanding of my identity and privilege is that I am a Mexican-American. I was born in the United States and the son of immigrant from Tijuana, Mexico. I am a hetrosexual 23 year old male, come from a middle class family of 5, owns a home, has a car that is in good working order for everyone with a driver’s license, and all insured with Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance. My privilege is also to go to CalArts with a yearly tuition of $45,000 dollars. I understand all my privileges and it is a tool for me to understand how to approach communities of all kinds. I know I cannot approach an inner city with an art project that puts the city in a light of self-reflection since I did not come from that community. I also know that I cannot represent a class of poverty since I have never been impoverished in my life. I can do my part to support movements of great roots. I can create art to make inner city more beautiful or to help the community. I can support an artist in a community with ideas using collaboration as tool to help build the bridge of partnership between communities of different sizes, social economical status, race, and etc.