Rooted Voices
Featuring artists from Whittier and surrounding communities, Rooted Voices centers stories shaped by place, how neighborhoods, labor, migration, ritual, and everyday encounters leave traces that linger across generations. The exhibition highlights how stories emerge through shared conditions and relationships, through proximity, care, struggle, and collaboration.
Rooted Voices is a student-curated exhibition made possible by Whittier College’s Poet StoryLab: Narrative, Community, and the Transformative Possibilities of Brown Storytelling. Through a special topics class, students selected works that reflect the talents of local artists while connecting themes of PARA/normal Borders at the MXCL BNL LAB.
Participating Artists:
Brook A. Logan Arcega, Emilia García, Roman Luna, Santos Nuñez,
Ramón Ramírez, and Jacqueline Valenzuela
Closing Reception will be held on April 11, 2026
The closing reception will include spoken word by Whittier College student Ember Hall and music by DJ Blythe Bizzczar.
About Whittier College StoryLab
Whittier College is one of the most diverse liberal arts colleges in the nation and is designated as both a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and Minority-Serving Institution (MSI). Located in Whittier, California, the College is committed to academic excellence, civic engagement, and inclusive, interdisciplinary scholarship.
The Whittier College StoryLab initiative, supported by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, advances innovative experiential pedagogy and research that amplifies stories reflecting the complexity and expansiveness of “brown” identity in the United States. Led by faculty in Art and History, the program centers storytelling, intersectionality, and public humanities as tools for cultural understanding and social engagement.
Student organizers:
Brook A Logan Arcega, Megan P Barayoga, Clark Paul Ehman, Yoselin Xiclaly Estrada, Hector Alberto Gastelum, Lilianna C Gorbea, Ember Hall, Mikayla I Hernandez, Ethan C Luevano, Cuauhtemoc Jude Luna, Skye Mendoza, Jessica Rios, Joaquin A Sanchez, Michelle G Sifuentes, Victor Soria Jr., Andrea Toledo