TMA x MOCA Art Talks: Joel Gaitan & Naomi Ortiz
October 14 | 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
At Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block (140 N. Main Ave., in Mooney Hall)
This new collaborative series from the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson and the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block convenes artists from current exhibitions with members of Tucson’s creative community. Artist Talks will explore creative practices and the common ground that connect local perspectives with broader conversations in contemporary art.
On October 14th, join us for the inaugural Artist Talk between Joel Gaitan and Naomi Ortiz. This event takes place at the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block (140 N. Main Ave., in Mooney Hall).
About the artists
Joel Gaitan: Exploring identity, spirituality, and the stories carried through ancestry, I use hand-built clay techniques passed down through generations, combining them with the symbols, gestures, and imagery that shaped my upbringing. I create sculptures that blend humor, devotion, and everyday life, moving between the earthly and the supernatural. Through my figures, I honor the people and traditions that came before me while imagining new worlds rooted in memory, ritual, and ancestral storytelling. I work across sculpture, installation, and mixed media, building pieces that feel both personal and universal.
Naomi Ortiz (they/them) is a Disabled Mestize poet, visual artist, and author of two books, most recently, Rituals for Climate Change: A Crip Struggle for Ecojustice. They are also a co-editor of the international anthology, Every Place on the Map is Disabled: Poems and Essays. Ortiz is a Reclaiming the U.S.-Mexico Border Narrative Awardee and a United States Artists Disability Futures Fellow. Through their multidisciplinary work, they invite people to imagine how self-care, disability justice, climate action, and other relational practices create a collective future. NaomiOrtiz.com