Changarrito with Paul Valadez

Cover image artwork: (Closeup) Paul Valadez Movie Series.

About the Artist

Paul Valadez grew up in Stockton, CA and attended San Joaquin Delta College prior to attending the San Francisco Art Institute where he earned his BFA in Interdisciplinary Art in 1997.  Valadez earned his MFA in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill where he was awarded a Weiss Urban Livability Fellowship. Paul currently resides in Deep South Texas where he works as a full-time lecturer in the Art Department at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, formerly the University of Texas-Pan American, on the US/Mexico Border.

He dreams of dining out every night but can’t right now!

Artist Statement

“Generally, my artwork has to do with my childhood and language. I grew up in a bicultural family, Anglo/white on my mother’s side and Mexican on my father’s side and I felt that I never fit in. I was either Mexican or white depending on what side of my family I was spending time with. Language to me is the fact that, Spanish is the language of secrets; Spanish was spoken in front of me to keep me from knowing something. Spanish was never spoken in my home and when I was a child English was rarely spoken with my father’s family.”

Artists have the opportunity to sell their art on the Changarrito cart in front of the Museum (or an offsite location, as representative for the Museum during various Austin festivals). Changarreando expands the reach of the artist by presenting their gallery online, while allowing the option to sell merch over Instagram and receive 100% of the sale.

Paul Valadez featured his artwork on the Changarrito cart outside the Museum’s entrance on June 23th and July 13th, 2020.

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