Minnesota artist Jimmy Longoria sits down with UMD

One of Jimmy Longoria’s murals displayed at the Multicultural Center. Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota Duluth

On Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. artist Jimmy Longoria joined the University of Minnesota Duluth Department of Art & Designs Visual Culture Lecture Series on Zoom to speak about his career and success as a Latino artist. 

“It’s always strange to hear my life being played back,” was the first thing Longoria said. “It's like, oh, I lived that.” 

Longoria did not hesitate to jump into topics such as politics, Hispanic culture, his early career and how it has influenced him with his paintings. He went on to share these stories of failure and success as an artist, and how being true to yourself can make you stand out. 

“The mural was not successful; it was rejected by the Mexican community,” Longoria said as he shared a picture of one of his first murals.

The mural was bright and colorful with powerful messages, but it was not enough to be praised.

“The elders, my fellow artists, and the excuse was that it was too intellectually rich for the community,”  Longoria said.

An audience member asked Longoria a question: “What do you consider your most impactful, either artwork or artistic movement, within your career?” 

Longoria responded with, “The answer is, and I’m not being flippant, is whatever is up next. Okay, because I learned early on that as soon as you do something that is pretty amazing, you can’t dwell there; you have to immediately go forward into the next challenge”.

Longoria took his career from murals to canvases, and by sticking with his own style, eventually, he was praised and recognized for his amazing work. 

According to Longoria’s website, he is the only Chicano awarded with the Bush Foundation Fine Artist Fellowship. He is also honored with a Virginia McKnight Binger Award in Human Service, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Living the Dream” Award from Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, along with many other awards and achievements. 

With his strong passion for expressive art and his values on communities, Longoria created his own organization called Mentoring Peace Through Art. This organization has two programs: One for students in schools to create a mural for public display, and the other for teenagers outside of school to gather and create a mural over walls that has gang graffiti.

According to the organization’s website, their goal is to “[T]ransform young people by absolutely accepting each MuralWorker as competent. We enlist them as MuralWorkers and engage them in the responsible work of transforming their community.” 

Two of Longoria’s murals were donated and are on display at the Multicultural Center at UMD campus. 

Jimmy Longoria’s artist statement that talks about his credentials and awards. 

Jimmy Longoria’s organization page that talks more about their goals and achievements.