Oxy Arts Speaker Series: Isabel Rojas Williams and Noni Olabisi in Conversation

 

Isabel Rojas-Williams, an Art Historian and curator, served as the Mural Conservancy Los Angeles Executive Director from 2011-2016. A native of Chile and resident of Los Angeles since 1973, she became an immediate and passionate fan of the mural movement here. She is a longtime civic activist who served as Mayor Villaraigosa’s liaison to the Latino, the Asian, and the African American Heritage Committees.  Isabel earned her graduate degree in art history from Cal State Los Angeles, and joined the faculty there in 2007. Among her numerous research works are "Los Angeles Street Mural Movement, 1930-2009," her master’s thesis, and a research video on David Alfaro Siqueiros, "Siqueiros: A Muralist in Exile," (exhibited at MOLAA 2010-2011), which led to her participation on the Mayor's Advisory Committee for the Siqueiros Mural and Interpretative Center project that was completed in 2012. Isabel had a major role in helping write the mural ordinance signed by Mayor Garcetti in 2013, which lifted the 2002 mural moratorium in Los Angeles. Among her numerous awards, in 2014, Los Angeles City Council honored Isabel Rojas-Williams as one of the fifteen "Latinas in the Arts" who has made an impact in the cultural landscape of Los Angeles. On January 2016, Isabel was chosen by Los Angeles City Council and City Impact Lab as one of the exceptional "2016 Impact Makers to Watch." Rojas-Williams participated as an Art Historian, an academic advisor, a speaker, and a curator in four of the 2017 Getty Pacific Standard Time: Los Angeles/Latin American exhibitions (Getty PST: LA/LA).

 

Noni Olabisi is the artist responsible for some of the most powerful murals across Los Angeles County. With over 25 years of experience, her works continues to reflect the need for perseverance,  justice and equality to educate and promote transformation. She has received many awards for public art commissions including the California Community Foundation Individual Artist Fellowship to further her career as an artist. Her Murals have appeared on television, music videos, movies, the cover of The LA Weekly, in a PBS documentary featuring Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., a well respected scholar, and in numerous newspapers, magazines and published books. Ms. Olabisi is currently mentoring art in a summer program, called Summer Night Lights, a Gang Reduction and Youth Development program through the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.