Shivangi Agrawal
I am a queer and disability activist based in Delhi, India. My are practice involves writing, creating zines, painting on big canvas, walls or unique surfaces like my prosthetic shoes and making a mess! 
I didn't grow up with art around me except in my own imagination. I didn't study it or learn it either. Art came to me from a place of desperation, survival, wanting to be heard and wanting to be in community. Art for me is ugly and uncomfortable and difficult and it hurts. I am constantly growing and learning as an artist.
I believe that art and art tools should be accessible and affordable specifically for underrepresented and marginalized communities. I like to use the various forms of art for social justice, collective organising, live documentation of political narratives and radical thoughts.
Find me on instagram and twitter @DisabledSpice
Sativa Cruz 
Artist statement coming soon...
Rob Fitzsimmons

Art is my passion. It is a meditative spiritual act, allowing me to turn off my mind and feel, experiment and trust my instincts. Sometimes it works aesthetically, other times it does not, but the process is just as valuable. I have learned to embrace the mistakes, and use them to add expression. A mistake to me might speak to someone else. My aim is towards realism, but as I approach it, it gets distorted by my interpretation. My style is expressive, chaotic and gestural up close, but resolves at a distance. Kind of like life. I am ever in wonder of this planet, the life on it and the deep mysteries of the universe.

I love that visual art is a language beyond words, expressions that cannot be spoken. Seen differently and interpreted individually, I believe there is a message for each person in a piece of art. The best part of art is what can be done with it - to encourage and inspire one another. I am privileged to have this gift to share with
others.
Reyasat Fiza
 Scavenger. Nomad. Photographer. Writer. Social worker.
HUMAN BY RELIGION HIPPIE BY NATURE.
Guadalupe "Lupe" Garcia
The mural itself has become much more than a collective art project: it has taken on an identity of its own –a living entity, with a story to tell from all those who helped mold it into what it is and will be. It has been a difficult path to even get to this point and now flirting on the verge of creating what was once an idea into reality. At the beginning stage of the development the Collective Mural seemed simple enough, with the purpose of establishing the Latinx presence here at Oregon State University. That was very naive of us as a committee, we soon faced obstacles that slowed the process and the closer we got another obstacle appeared, but this never halted our progress.

So when I say the Mural had gained an identity of its own, it refused to die before its creators and from those who consistently opposed it. This can be said about our culture, our people, our spirits… that we never accept defeat and we strive together till the goal is accomplished, and we get what we deserve. To be part of this Mural has showed me the strong united presence of the OSU students and community, and the relentless effort to create this common goal.

The Mural has given me more than a project to work on, but has given me a way to connect myself to the OSU community. I have met great people along the way, who showed me what it is to be a leader, with the constant ambition to always learn more. The more I surround myself with these leaders the more I see myself taking on the same qualities. I am forever thankful to have the opportunity to be part of a legacy that will outlast the time I have here at the Oregon State and will be viewed by future generations, and act as a gathering spot for others as it has done for me.
Monica Garcia
Artist statement coming soon...
Carmen López
El arte para mí es expresarte con un medio indefinido. No me considero una artista, pero sí dibujo de vez en cuando. Me involucro en cosas expresivas como el mural y asisto a eventos de spoken word. Admiro a quienes se pueden expresar con palabras. Es un modo de contar la historia de una o de varias personas, de dar poder a los que escuchan. El arte también es trascendente. Siento que mucho de la historia de la gente se pierde, pero a través de palabras la historia sigue viva. Ojalá que nuestro mural se conserve por mucho tiempo y constate nuestro esfuerzo. He disfrutado lo que he aprendido y la gente con quien he compartido esta trayectoria. Espero se reconozca que el mural simboliza que los estudiantes todavía pueden impactar y cambiar la cultura de la universidad.
Kayla Martin
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”-Albert Einstein

I like quotes. They cause people to think. With art, I hope it inadvertently causes a viewer to think. Thinking. The reason I participate in producing a piece of art is because it is a way that makes people ask questions, like why is this here or who is writing this statement.

With each symbol, image, tone, color, and stroke of a brush it is my expectation that people will analyze, form their own ideas, create their own reasoning as to what they are viewing, ask why is it here, and what does it seek to do.

With our mural, it is art with a purpose. A purpose to reveal the dedication, and work that came with its creation. The friendships and connections made throughout its installation, and as a timeless, permanent symbol of community, culture, history, and ultimate pride for all those who see it. The thinking process that came with its formulation can truly be displayed by its design, and like a quote each person has the right to freely interpret our work of art.
Amparo Mata
I’m not the most creative person in the world, but I like to express my emotions, feelings and visions through art. I wish I could devote more time to art, and to developing my artistic abilities, still every time I create something I give it everything I have. It’s a way of letting out the good and the bad inside me in a positive way.

“Every head is a new world,” is what my mom says. I believe that even the smallest piece of art can tell a million different stories. Part of the reason behind this is the amazing ability of humans to interpret what we have in front of us in different ways. The artist might have his/her own interpretation of his/her piece, but people looking at it might or might not see the same thing.

We learn through the sharing of our stories, and art is the best way to share those stories with others. Every individual has their own story to share and I want to share mine through my drawings and paintings.


​'ZaddyAstro' Nikita

Nikita is genderfluid and uses ze/hir as pronouns. Ze is a witch, astrologer, tarot reader, reiki and crystal healer. During hir free time, ze loves to write rap songs about feminist issues and expresses feelings through abstract painting.
Isabella Preble
Art is one of the best and most innovative languages for creating peace in the world. I have loved art from a young age and grew up with an extremely artistic mother that shared with us and taught us how to appreciate and create beauty everyday. I am passionate about art both as a form of expression and the social impact. My art is has been experimenting with painting, music, dance and drawing.
Esther Rodríguez 
Art is not about staying within the l i n e S.
​Art goes beyond that. El arte no conoce fronteras. Desafiando normas es inevitable. Art is about inventing and reinventing. El arte is about expression, emotion and revealing an untold story. La expresión e imaginación takes many different forms and shapes. The art I perform is soothing to the senses, but it can also be lashing to the heart. El arte que creo provoca sentimientos de compasión, esperanza, amor, al igual que nostalgia, desesperación y coraje. Mi arte no es para complacer, si no para incomodar al individuo. Es sobre retar el pensamiento crítico. I create art through various modes: dramatic interpretations, performances, actuación, escritos, paintings y creación. Healing and growth es parte del proceso. Art is an avenue to myself, to you and to the rest of the world.
Krishna Roy
Roy is a tattoo and fine artist and worked with many reputed tattoo studios in India. After all these years of working experience in the art industry and studying the needs and requirements of the clients, she came up with the idea of having her own art tattoo studio, and founded Frozen Ink And Art- Tattoo & Art Studio in 2017; providing all kind of art services under one roof.
During the years of her learning, Roy has not only excelled in tattoo and other art forms, but also found a responsible citizen and humble human in herself, and that’s why FIAA not just understands the profitable business, but also understands the social responsibility and so provides free WALL-ART (Graffiti) to orphanage and other charity houses.
Hardeep Singh
I make pictures, I write, and I prefer to use verbs over nouns.
After all, we are all just stories, waiting to be told...​
Alma Torres
Awareness and action are not the same thing. I think of art as a means to embrace our vulnerabilities and strengths while being mindful; yet, I also think of art as action, bound with the determination to pursue and realize our collective dreams. Art can be short, long, or infinite trail in direction of expressing ourselves and our relationship with the world. For me, being involved in art is my contribution towards creating a just, inclusive and more habitable world to everyone. I want to be present, perhaps at times behind the scenes, but incessantly facing the current when my spirit allows it and, striving to be grounded and centered in the different perspectives of our reality. 
​सीमा ‘स्‍मृति’
जब कला के बारे में सोचती हूँ तो  मन में भारतीय परम्‍पराओं और मान्‍यताओं के अनुसार यदि कला को अवतारी शक्ति की एक इकाई मानें तो श्रीकृष्‍ण सोलह कला के अवतार माने गए हैं। सोलह कलाओं से युक्‍त अवतार पूर्ण माना जाता है। इन सोलह कलाओं में  प्रत्‍येक कला का अपना एक विशेष महत्‍व है ।  कला व्‍यक्ति के मन में बनी स्‍वार्थ, परिवार, क्षेत्र, धर्म, भाषा और जाति आदि की सीमाएँ मिटाकर विस्‍तृत और व्‍यापकता प्रदान करती है। व्‍यक्ति के मन को उदात्‍त बनाती है। वह व्‍यक्ति को “स्‍व” से निकालकर “वसुधैव कुटुम्‍बकम्” से जोड़ती है। दोस्‍तों यही तो डैम इंडिया ( D.A.M INDIA) का उदेश्‍य सभी को साथ लेकर चलना । फिर कहाँ हमारे इस ग्रुप आयु !जाति! धर्म की सीमाएं, बस है तो एक ही अर्थ साथ साथ चलना और समाज में एक नया वातावरण बनाना जहाँ कला के माध्‍यम से समरसता बनाना । समाज में कला की  शक्ति से  लोगों को संकीर्ण सीमाओं से ऊपर उठाकर उसे ऐसे ऊँचे स्‍थान पर पहुँचा दे जहाँ मनुष्‍य केवल मनुष्‍य रह जाता है। रवीन्द्रनाथ ठाकुर के मुख से निकला “कला में मनुष्‍य अपने भावों की अभिव्‍यक्ति करता है ” तो प्लेटो ने कहा – “कला सत्‍य की अनुकृति की  अनुकृति है।” टालस्‍टाय के शब्‍दों में अपने भावों की क्रिया रेखा, रंग, ध्‍वनि या शब्‍द द्वारा इस प्रकार अभिव्‍यक्ति करना कि उसे देखने या सुनने में भी वही भाव उत्‍पन्‍न हो जाए कला है। हृदय की गइराईयों से निकली अनुभूति जब कला का रूप लेती है, कलाकार का अन्‍तर्मन मानो मूर्त ले उठता है चाहे लेखनी उसका माध्‍यम हो या रंगों से भीगी तूलिका या सुरों की पुकार या वाद्यों की झंकार। कला ही आत्मिक शान्ति का माध्‍यम है। यह ‍कठिन तपस्‍या है, साधना है। इसी के माध्‍यम से कलाकार सुनहरी और इन्‍द्रधनुषी आत्‍मा से स्‍वप्निल विचारों को साकार रूप देता है।डैम इंडिया ( D.A.M INDIA)  का प्रत्‍येक सदस्‍य  अपने मन और मस्तिष्क  के स्‍तर पर कहीं ना कहीं रवीन्‍द्रनाथ ठाकुरजी, प्‍लेटो या फिर टालस्‍टाय से प्रभावित लग रहा है। हमारी पहली पेन्‍ट की गई दीवार के हर रंग में हमारा सत्‍य झलकने वाला है।
रंगों की बात
भावों के साथ
देती समाज को प्‍यार,
समेटती लिंग जाति और धर्मो का अभाव
डैम इंडिया की रंगीन हर दीवार ।
Elena Valdés Chavarría
With certainty I can say that I am still discovering who I am; every now and then something, someone moves me, and it is then when I am able to glimpse bits and pieces of my truth. An instinct of freedom and life guides me and I portray in every dimension elements of my being. Gradually, I create myself.

Cautious as the moon, I am eager to show myself, sharing through art the joy that I find in living, inviting everyone to create their own testimonies and celebrating together a way to combine colors for self-discovery.
Sebastian VELA Velazquez
From my birth, I watched my grandfather's fluorescent color schemes unfold on canvas, alongside the faint smell of oil paints that lingered throughout our family's home. I inherited a sufficient amount of a similar creativity. Just as many of my relatives painted at an easel, I evolved my talent to do the same at a much larger scale. My murals have covered massive walls from most of the West, including a few oversea locations, Hawaii and Colombia. From the forest ocean sides of Oregon, to the Louisiana bayous, I have painted murals that peak out from immense magic landscapes of the nation. Images of dancing sugar skulls adorned with roses in the Southwest, to portraits of international activists with profound quotes in Oakland. When an inspirational vision comes at me, whether it be a person, color, or pattern, it is perfectly clear that it must be part of my next piece. When the deep visions I feel within myself, collage themselves into vibrant stories visually depicted on a massive wall side, I feel the most complete as a being. It is my absolute calling to paint. My motivation of this impactful output comes from my own love of public mural art. Growing up reading and studying of the great renaissance muralists, infamous graffiti artists, and the temple scribes from Peru to Egypt, I realized that visual communication is Universal language. The accessibility to contemporary street art today is the biggest movement in all of art history. Galleries and art museums still flourish in business but have a contrasting effect to the power of public murals. Our society has stayed consistently bombarded by mass advertisements, political campaigning, and architectural renovation. The diversity to see color and empowering images shifts the mindset of the average drive or walk through any community. I have returned to some of my pieces the day after they are painted to stumble upon families taking photos or even women adorning the walls with flowers and banners creating the piece into an altar. Some of the images I paint interact with connections to spiritual realms or metaphysical themes. I encourage depictions of the creation of nature, supreme goddesses, and the interactions of a conscious mind. Artists and people who promote similar ideas in a spiritually suffering society are crucial links to a healthier future.
Nicthé Verdugo
Art, to me, means finding the beauty of our historia, cultura, e identidad through images, music, dances, etc. Art expresses the voyages I have taken, are currently taking, and will take to discover my roots. 

Through art, I also hope to always cultivate some revolutionary love for myself, my circles of influence, and my community. And as spoken work poet, Dominique Christina, once said, “Revolution is the sound of your heart still beating. and as long as it is, you have work to do. Do it. Without apology. Do it. Bravely and nobly. Do it. Exist, insist, and by all means, resist.” 
― Dominique Christina
Kalpana Yadav
"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting."
- e. e. cummings
Art is important to me because it gives me joy and it helps me to communicate with other people and learn different things visually. For me art is way of expressing myself without words, and creating something  that speaks to people, that inspires and empowers them. Photography and music are both a form of art. I engage in art through capturing moments, telling stories through pictures, playing music and finding something interesting in an ordinary place.