Indigenous Peoples' Day - Votan Henriquez

KSPC 88.7FM

Votan Henriquez (he/him) is a Los Angeles native of Maya and Nahua roots, who blends the knowledge of his ancestry, graphic design, street art, and awareness of the issues facing Native people today. He expresses his voice primarily on city streets in the form of large scale murals and street art, to create artworks which blend contemporary arts techniques with old Mayan symbology and Native American imagery. He is also the owner and founder of NSRGNTS, a collective and brand that uses Indigenous oral tradition, resistance and Native accomplishments to add strength to Indigenous resilience. He's had the opportunity to do artist in residences in Germany, Ecuador, United Arab Emirates, and throughout the U.S. His murals of resistance have created dialogue and broadened the conversations of Indigenous peoples' right to exist, thrive and practice self-determination. He is featured in the permanent exhibition at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles as a contributor to shapring L.A.'s art history. He has also been awarded (with NSRGNTS) to a proclamation by the city of Duluth, Minnesota, which honors the water protector/MMIW's mural painted on the American Indian Community Housing Organization's building. The four story mural has positively and profoundly affected the Native community. In this interview, Priya Prabhakar and Votan talk about the beginnings of NSRGNTS being inspired by the Zapatista uprising in 1994, the importance of street art in Indigenous resistance, his piece “Autoimmune Disease”, and the impact that Votan’s art had on Indigenous communities in other countries. You can check out his store, NSRGNTS, at http://nsrgnts.storenvy.com/ or on their Instagram page, @nsrgnts.