Provided by the Artist
Poem about the Cover Art:
Legal migrants
illegal migrants
alien migrants flow on the Border wetting the country with sweat. Border Patrol guards the migratory stream looking for Deportable aliens ignoring the status. A proportion of all leave Cargando sueños, esperanzas aspiraciones, exported C.O.D.
Sylvia Orozco, artist, curator, and administrator, is the major founder and current director of Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin. Likewise, she has been involved in community, civic and local organizations. Moreover, Sylvia has played a major state, regional, national, and international role in the promotion of the arts.
Mexic-Arte Museum is her major contribution to the community. Mexic-Arte Museum is one of the most important museums in the country and one of the premiere Latino museums in the nation. Orozco has served as Executive Director since 1984. Orozco began her efforts in a small space in a warehouse but expanded to a new location at the corner of 5th and Congress. Through her vision, leadership, and execution she obtained the approval of a $20 million bond election for a renovated museum facility
Orozco has played a major role in tying Austin to the international community and especially that of Mexico. In 2007 the Mexican government awarded her the prestigious Ohtli Award, an award given to those who have promoted the prosperity of Mexican communities abroad. In 2002 she was awarded the International Good Neighbor Could of Austin Citizen Award. She has also been a member of the Austin/Saltillo Sister City Association.
She has curated significant major exhibits in Austin. These include “Imagining Mexico: Expressions in Popular Culture from Austin Collections”; “Legacy of Change”; “Creando Fuerza: Cambio y Permanencia, Latino Print Center”; “Ernesto de Soto Collection”; “The Aztec and Maya Revival”; “Los Hilos de Oaxaca/The Thread of Oaxaca”; “Dos Maestros: Dr. Atl and Mardonio Magana”; “Mexico in Austin Collections”; “Jose Guadalupe Posada, Master Printer”; “Jean Charlot Prints on Mexico” and “Counter Colon-ialismo.”
She has also brought major collections and major exhibits to Austin. These have included “The Greatness of Mexico: 16th-19th Centuries”; “Tesoros de la Catedral de Saltillo”; the Smithsonian’s “Americanos: Latino Life in the United States,” “Diego Rivera and the Revolution,” and “Passion for Frida.”
The Mexic-Arte Museum has given thousands of artists an opportunity to exhibit and sell their art. Latino printmakers from across the country have benefitted from Mexic-Arte. The Mexican Print collection, the beginning of the museum’s art collection holdings, was negotiated by Ms. Orozco. She also negotiated the donation of the Serie Print Project over 300 original serigraphs to the Mexic-Arte Museum, which now is the Official Archive. In addition, she secured the Juan Sandoval Collection for the Mexic-Arte Museum in 2020, a major collection with a focus on the Texas-Mexico border.
Likewise, Mexic-Arte has served over 100,000 Austin school children and currently employs twelve full time and five part time employees. Currently, five interns from area universities are being trained there. Mexic-Arte has created economic development for Austin.
Orozco also contributed to the creation of the Mexican American Cultural Center. She has served on the advisory board as a city council appointee from 2007 to 2012.
Austin City Council has appointed Sylvia to numerous positions. She serves on Mayor Lee Leffingwell’s Community Advisory Council, the Mexican American Cultural Center Advisory Board, and is a past Austin Leadership Council and Cultural Infrastructure Task Force Member, and past City of Austin Arts Plan Task Force.
Orozco has also been an Austin teacher. She was a Studio Art Instructor at Austin Community College from 1988 to 1993, an AISD substitute teacher in 1985, a Silkscreen Instructor at the Metz Recreation Center in 1984, and a teacher with the Government Migrant Assistant program at St. Edward’s in 1978.
Austin has benefitted from the kindness, generosity, intelligence, and community spirit of Sylvia Orozco.
Most recently Mexic-Arte Museum’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, Sylvia Orozco, was appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Museum and Library Services Board (NMLSB) in January 2017. The NMLSB serves as an advisory board for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an institution whose mission it is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement by providing primary federal support to 35,000 museums and 123,000 libraries across the nation. Orozco is one of 20 presidentially appointed members to the Board, and proudly accepted her new position.
Written by:
Dr. Cynthia E. Orozco
PO Box 7908
Ruidoso, NM 88355
Cynthia.Orozco@enmu.edu; chileos@hotmail.com (use simultaneously)
575-937-1297
