When you ask Marisol Morales about her artistic practice, she will start by telling you the story of her parents. Born in Mexico, her immigrant parents were farmworkers from the ages of 8 to 18 and later became active in the Chicano and labor movements. They fought for social and economic justice alongside organizers like Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez. Her parents’ influence is deeply felt in her artistic practice as an “artivist,” a name she calls herself. Morales’ perspective of the world stems deeply and unapologetically from her family’s heritage. As a second generation Chicana mixed media artist, Morales tells her story with empathy and care in the hopes of effecting social change.
When it came time to create her portrait, it only felt right for Marisol to honor her parents, especially since her father died of cancer just 3 years ago from prolonged exposure to pesticides. We met on Skylight Farm on a hot day under an unyielding sun, just as her parents had worked decades ago on the farms of California. We met on July 4th as it was the only available date for both of us, but the occasion felt apt to recognize the lives of people from a community often denied belonging in our country. In the photograph Marisol holds, she points out her father’s bandaged fingers; skin so painfully worn, and never fully healed, from years of picking produce.
The memory of her father is accompanied by grief and remains fresh today, especially as she’s begun sorting through the boxes of historical artifacts―letters, photographs, and notes he left for her from the 42+ years he devoted to the farmworker justice movement. Marisol slowly sifts through them, trying to figure out how to make art that tells the story of a community so unseen, so undervalued, and so marginalized in our country.
Marisol’s work can be found on Instagram @solecito_art. She’s shown at The Fishbowl in Uptown, Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery, and her art will be featured at The Metropole, a nonprofit center for communities of color. She works in development for Washington Farmland Trust.
Can you tell me how you developed your artistic practice and your influences?
I am the daughter of proud farmworkers Daniel and Marta Morales who immigrated from Mexico. They were involved in the farmworkers movement, my parents having both worked in the fields and seeing the many injustices they and their families experienced. They dedicated their life's work to that [movement], and my siblings and I grew up with similar values and a fundamental interest and care for farmworkers. My influence is very rooted in activism. From a very young age they took us to protests and we often hosted a lot of the labor organizers at our house for meetings. My parents were also part of the Chicano movement which is very significant because that's how I identify myself.
A lot of my art is very much influenced by my parents and my culture. I've always had an interest in art but over the past few years, I really narrowed in on ‘what story do I want to tell?’ ‘How do I identify myself?’ ‘What's important to me?’ and ‘What are my values?’
How did you come to call yourself an “artivist”?
Being an activist and artist are two things I identify with that are at the core of my upbringing. Ever since I was a kid, I've long been involved in the community while aware of the injustices. I feel like my art can be a tool for that movement and to contribute, to spark dialogue for issues that are often unseen in a way that is approachable. People can engage with the art and become curious, ask questions, and hear a bit about my family's story.
Could you tell me a little about your dad? Who he was and about his cancer diagnosis?
My father was someone very special, very unique. He, despite many hardships, had such a bright lightness. He was the kind of person that was out in the community, knew everyone, and loved getting to know people. It always amazed me how every time we would go somewhere, someone recognized him- he always had a story about each person. Culture and community were the two big things he really valued.
He worked in the agricultural fields with his siblings and it was a hard journey immigrating here to the United States. When I would ask him about his origin story, it was hard for him to talk about it. My father is indigenous and my grandmother is Apache, so he experienced a lot of racism and hardship growing up.
He was diagnosed with cancer when doctors were interested in a research study at Stanford about the impact of pesticide residue on farmworkers. The study entailed running several blood tests checking his overall health, and they discovered he had Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was among many other farmworkers who were diagnosed with cancer and since that study came out, the numbers have only risen. There have been studies even since the 50s. People knew immediately that there was a connection between pesticides and cancer and many farmworkers’ children were born with physical disabilities and cancer, some born without limbs. At the border when they were bringing agricultural workers into the US, they would line them up like cattle, have them undress, and spray them with DDT from head to toe because they were afraid they were bringing lice or other diseases into the US. These were stories that were really hard for my father to retell. He went through many stages and years of battling cancer and passed away about three years ago at the start of Covid.
How has your healing process been and has art helped you feel connected to your dad?
I went to therapy for two years and joined an organization called Wild Grief, which supports grieving families and individuals. It helped me get through some really tough times. It's still hard thinking about it. When I'm doing my art, I still remember my dad and feel those emotions. He would be proud of what I'm doing now with my art. He loved art and always supported me. Every time on his travels, he would bring back something for me that was always art related. We loved going to art museums together.
Looking to the future, what projects are you planning to work on and how have the past few years contributed to your evolution as an artist?
My dad collected a lot of artifacts from his time as an activist during the farmworkers movement. I have tons of newspapers, magazines and photos. The mementos, notes and letters from Cesar Chavez, and a lot of these pieces were really important to my dad. I want to incorporate these artifacts into my art with collage type mixed media portraits so my work is evolving. I'm actually creating some art for a conference in California called the EcoFarm Conference. I want to do a lot more of that―both looking for opportunities to partner with nonprofit organizations that align with my values and also exhibit my art.
What do you hope people take away from your art, not just in viewing it but the concrete actions people can take?
For me personally, art is a way for me to tell my story. It's a way to give a voice to my family and experiences, the journey we've had as immigrants– as indigenous people of this land– to elevate their voices and speak to the injustices that we continue to experience. It’s also to highlight the beauty of our relationship and connection to nature. So I do a combo of both―speaking to our kinship with nature and telling the stories of my family. I want people to feel some sort of connection. I want people to understand and find some way of relating. I hope people become more informed about where their food comes from, who's picking their fruits and vegetables, why this matters, and what they can do about that. I want people to take an active approach to what they've learned.
Nothing is going to change unless we're changing policy. Farmworkers are still fighting for their rights and there's so many organizations here in Washington State that are doing great work. Community to Community is doing great work and Familia Unidas are at the forefront of addressing these issues and advocating for change at the government level. I feel like that's the most important thing you can do―education and advocacy. Of course individual choices matter, but it's much bigger than that― Corporations take advantage of our families working in the fields, and elected officials support big ag[riculture]. Of course, buying organic makes a difference, but it's a much bigger systemic issue.
