Meet our Creative-in-Residence: Mario Ybarra Jr.
1. Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you became interested in your field?
Answer: My name is Mario Ybarra Jr. I founded Slanguage Studio in 2002 within Wilmington California. I became interested in becoming an artist by attending Homeland Cultural Arts Center in Long Beach in the 1990’s. After attending art school at Otis College of Art and Design and California University Irvine I decided to start my practice here locally.
Slanguage Studio has lead the field in Mentoring New Artists in The Field of contemporary Art, Community Art Engagement and Artistic Place Making. In Partnership With Other Avant Guarde Art Organizations And Non-Traditional Art Learning And Mentoring Facilitator locally, nationally and internationally we have Founded Slanguage University. Thanks to our Artist-in Residency at Studio One Eleven we are able to share their space to curate, facilitate and incubate a series of quarterly programs, conferences and workshops that will make up Slanguage Universities founding year in operation.
2. What inspires your work and where do you draw your creative ideas from?
Answer: I believe that community and pop culture inspire my work. I like to pull ideas and imagery from the surrounding environment and turn it to art.
3. How do you see your work impacting or contributing to our office culture and community?
Answer: My role and impact here is to create conversations and ideas that are both unconventional and yet practical to create a sustainable working environment.
4. What do you think is the role of art and creativity in the workplace?
Answer: I think art is integral in the work environment by bringing nonlinear storytelling to nonlinear problem solving.
5. Can you describe a project or piece you’re particularly proud of and why it stands out to you?
Answer: Last year Slanguage Studio was able to collaborate with Studio One Eleven on creating a pavilion for the Long Beach Museum Of Art. This project stands out to me because we were able to incorporate artists from all across the country and synthesize their work on a pavilion that we created with Studio One Eleven’s Architects and Designers.
6. What do you hope to achieve or explore during your residency with us?
Answer: I hope to continue to develop our relationship with the designers and architects here in Studio One Eleven on some new projects. We are also excited about developing educational programming under the banner of our new initiative called Slanguage University.
Keep up to date with Mario’s work at Bio — Mario Ybarra Jr. (marioybarrajrartist.com)
Instagram Mario Ybarra Jr. (@mario_ybarra_jr) • Instagram photos and videos
Contact Mario at ybarradiaz@gmail.com