The Mosaic Project is a photographic initiative that aims to celebrate the rich contribution of immigrant artists living in the United States. As a Costa Rican photographer, who spent eleven years as an undocumented immigrant before obtaining a green card in 2014, Nacho Guevara topic’s is not only timely, but of personal and professional relevance. Recent negativity in the media inspired him to use his art to reshape public perception by increasing the visibility of immigrant artists and highlighting their creative and cultural contributions. To date, Nacho Guevara has executed seven portraits with artists from the Middle East (Syria, Israel), southeast Europe (Greece), Asia (Japan), Latin America (Dominican Republic, Costa Rica) and the West Indies (Guyana/Grenada), with an equally diverse range of artistic specialties (clarinet, musical saw, weaving, Latin folk/fusion music, multi-media art, dance, and classical music composition). The audio and video recorded conversations preceding the photoshoots, that were initially intended to document the creative process, have evolved into hours of rich dialogue capturing the personal and creative development, global trajectories, and unique perspectives of immigrants at this critical moment in United States history. With this seed funding, Nacho Guevara aims to create a collection of 40 portraits and interviews with immigrant artists that will be displayed in public spaces, and inaugurated with a free community event featuring their work. With this, Nacho Guevara hopes The Mosaic Project can spark a dialogue that will play a positive role in shaping the future social landscape in the United States.
