Introducing Cristina Molina
Cristina Molina is a visual artist who hails from the subtropics of Miami and currently lives and works in New Orleans—two environmentally precarious cities that have influenced her research on identity, loss, and disappearing landscapes. Spanning video installation, photography, and performance, Molina’s artwork is set amidst vulnerable terrains both real and imagined. Using the language of magical realism, her works centralize little-known narratives to upend dominant histories.
Molina’s projects are typically collaborative and often include the participation of The Crystal Efemmes—a myth-building collective that produces immersive installations and performances with feminist agendas. Parallel to her individual practice Molina has a creative investment in community building. From 2014-20 she was a member of the New Orleans artist-run project, The Front where she curated artwork and co-organized The Front’s annual film festival. In 2023, Molina co-founded Camp Street Studios and The Parlour Gallery, an artist-run production and exhibition space in the Arts District of Downtown New Orleans. Cristina Molina is a Professor of New Media + Animation and Gallery Director at Southeastern Louisiana University where she received the 2018 President’s Award for Excellence in Artistic Activity and was the recipient of the Viola Brown Endowed Professorship in Visual and Dramatic Arts from 2020-22.
Molina is a recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including the Fulbright Scholar Award, the Artist in Residence in Everglades Fellowship (2019), and the Joan Mitchell Center Residency (2021). Her projects have been supported by the National Association for Latino Arts and Culture, The Foundation for Contemporary Arts, The National Performance Network, and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2020, Molina was one of the 61 artists selected for the survey exhibition State of the Art at Crystal Bridges Museum. Her work has been featured at institutions such as the New Orleans Museum of Art, Project Row Houses Houston, Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, The Polk Museum, the New Orleans Film Festival, and the Syros International Film Festival, among others.
Who makes up your art circle?
My art circle is made up mostly of the visual and performing arts community in New Orleans. When I first arrived in New Orleans, I became a member of the artist-run space The Front (@thefrontnola) and met many of my long-time collaborators there. I am currently a founder of Camp Street Studios (@campstreetstudios) and The Parlour Gallery (@theparlourgallery), a production and exhibition space in the Arts District of New Orleans. There I am constantly in proximity with other artists who have their studios in the building, our group of amazing interns, and the community of patrons and art lovers who regularly attend our exhibitions and events.
How do you expand your art circle?
I expand my art circle by participating in residencies on a regional, national, and international scale. I am currently thrilled for the opportunity to have this ProjectSpace Residency in Lafayette which has afforded me the opportunity to meet artists and culture bearers in the region and have my work be in dialogue with new audiences.
What value do you see in having a creative community?
Being around other creative people who are focused on their craft is endlessly enriching and inspiring. I find that conversations and experiences shared with other artists not only lifts my mood, but stimulates me intellectually and motivates me to continue my own artistic practice.
How does your artistic approach contribute to your community?
As I mentioned before I have served in community leadership positions in two organizations in New Orleans and that has enabled me to think creatively about how to support other artists and create programming for our local community to engage in. I am also an educator and I bring my skills and experience into the classroom and share the knowledge I’ve gained both as an individual and community member with my students.
Our weekly Art Circle series profiles artists throughout the community and is sponsored in part by Lafayette Visitor Enterprise Fund managed by Lafayette Travel
