Project Statement
Cultural institutions have been at the nexus of many conversations about their role in appropriation and extraction. They serve as a perpetual reminder of the lasting effects of colonialism, racism, and capitalism when BIPoC community members engage with institutional content, experiences, and are gate-kept from accessing or creating in these spaces. However, they have also been described as conduits for cultural exchange, preservation, and educational incubators that spark conversation, inspire calls for action, and provide artists with platforms for creativity and expression.
These contradictions briefly highlight the complicated history and relationship between BIPoC community members and our cultural institutions, but it also provides an opportunity for both groups to examine, intervene, and dismantle the underlying causes of these systems of oppression within cultural institution contexts. My thesis specifically explores how space activation can encourage and foster stronger and healthier collaborations between BIPoC artists and cultural institutions in Portland, and what it can look like through design justice and participatory frameworks. I wholeheartedly believe that cultural institutions can and have an obligation to dismantle these systems and structures, and as a result contribute to a shifting arts and cultural landscape that centers the wellbeing of communities of color.
Artist Statement
Miguel Rodriguez is a Portland-based creative with a focus on multimedia,
storytelling, and community building. During the past 10+ years he has worked in secondary and higher education, as well as the museum and nonprofit sectors. He leads his work with systems-level, community-led, and relationship-based practices and values.
Miguel’s role as a designer is to not only highlight the pervasive systems that adversely impact our conditions, but to also take actionable steps towards creating new and just futures with his communities. This requires an interdisciplinary, collaborative, and people-centered approach that centers design justice and participatory frameworks.
Miguel currently works atthe Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) as a Talent Development & Inclusion Strategist, and he has a BS in Mathematics from Portland State University. He is pursuing an MFA in Collaborative Design from the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA), and his thesis focuses on space activation and the exchange betweenBIPoC artists and cultural institutions, with an emphasis on creating non-extractive and non-transactional relationships and partnerships.
In his free time, Miguel Rodriguez makes conscious/political hip-hop music, leads a grassroots Latinx collective, and does some diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consulting on the side.
MFA in Collaborative Design
