Upcoming Exhibition in the
HAC Gallery

In addition to work from 70+ local artists, HAC's Gallery & Gift Shop exhibits art work from emerging and historically unrepresented local artists through its Gallery program. The Gallery & Gift Shop hosts pop-up events, demonstrations, receptions, and artist talks during Last Fridays & the Art Walk and beyond. Read on to learn about the exhibition soon-to-be in the HAC Gallery.

Visiting Grandparents

Monica Inez Meyer

Grandparents home. Visiting their home, the first thing I see is the kitchen. Seeing grandma waiting with food at her table. Grandpa’s work shirt on his favorite chair, her apron on the other. Antiques from my ancestors' homes, that have been collected after they passed and given to me. These things create the Cielos y Tejido Catrina, Heaven and Lace Catrina.

Cropped photograph of a woman painted as La Catrina with skeleton figures and decorative skull makeup, surrounded by fluffy clouds and butterflies.

Artist Statement:

My work explores memory, ancestry, cultural identity, and the ways personal stories connect us to one another. Through photography, installation, set design, and visual storytelling, I create immersive works that examine how family histories, traditions, and collective experiences shape our understanding of ourselves and our communities. In the past, I have seen a lot of the divide come from fear as it does in our daily life. Fear of others drives racism, intolerance. I educate myself during the process to gain the perspective of my audience prior to sharing my art.

Cropped photograph of fluffy clouds, old family photographs, and many butterflys scattered throughout.

As a Mexican-American artist, I am particularly interested in the traditions of remembrance and the role they play in preserving identity across generations. This is something that was taught to me at a young age through photography—flipping through my grandparents’ photo albums, their only heirlooms. Much of my recent work is inspired by Día de los Muertos and the concept of the ofrenda; not only an altar of remembrance, but a living act of connection between past and present. These ideas have led to the development of my ongoing Living Ofrenda series, where portraiture, handcrafted environments, and symbolic objects of my memories come together to honor family stories, migration, resilience, and cultural inheritance. The reminder of the Catrina is that, underneath it all, we are the same. I want to stress commonalities among the community as my reminder when life continues, peace must remain, because life does, as does death. We should respect it and each other.

The recurring figure of the Living Catrina serves as a visual bridge between memory and embodiment. Constructed from everyday objects, heirlooms, natural materials, and handmade elements, these works transform familiar items into vessels for storytelling. While rooted in Mexican traditions, the work seeks to highlight experiences that transcend culture: grief, love, belonging, sacrifice, and the desire to remain connected to those who came before us.

My creative process combines photography with physical craftsmanship. I build many of my own sets, props, and environments, allowing the work to exist beyond the photograph itself. The act of making becomes an extension of the narrative, reflecting traditions of resourcefulness, creativity, and care passed down through generations of makers in my family.

Ultimately, my goal is to create work that invites reflection and connection. I want viewers to see aspects of their own stories within the images, regardless of their background. By exploring the universal themes found within specific cultural experiences, I hope to foster empathy, encourage dialogue, and celebrate the ways memory and heritage continue to shape who we are. My end goal my seem to only educate everyone else, but it is for me to learn about my own foundations and heal, possibly grieve in a way I hadn’t before and pass on other ways of grieving to my descendants.

Follow Monica on Social Media:

Instagram: @mon.inez