Not Real Art

Art can be an incredibly powerful tool in giving overlooked and marginalized communities spaces to speak and share their stories. Today's guest, Jacqueline Valenzuela, is a painter whose work is centered around her experience in the Chicano world of lowriding. She conveys the stories of women in the space who own their own cars, and who, despite facing tremendous odds, are rising up in the male-dominated lowriding world. As a 2020, NRA Grant Recipient, Jacqueline’s work stood out to us for being fresh, and a voice worth listening to. In this episode, Jacqueline talks about the lowrider car culture that informs so much of what she creates. She shares how she got her start in the space, details about her car, La Playgirl, and how she grew to appreciate it as an art form. Jacqueline points out that there have always been women lowriders, but they do not get the recognition they deserve. This is why she wants to tell these women’s stories, and we hear more about her creative process, which extends far beyond simply putting her brush to canvas. She interviews her subjects and does extensive research so that people see themselves reflected in her work. Along with this, we also discuss the supportive role her parents have played in her life, which drew her to NRA, and the importance of putting time into the business side of your art hustle. To hear more from this positive, passionate artist, be sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Don't waste time, and register to vote for this historic election.
• The lowrider podcast that Jacqueline is a fan of.
• Hear more about Jacqueline’s passion for lowriding culture and what she’s learned from it.
• What Jacqueline enjoys most about working on her car.
• There have been and are more women in the lowrider scene than most people realize.
• Some of the lowrider women that Jacqueline pays homage to in her art.
• Hear a bit of the origin story of the lowriding culture.
• The role that storytelling plays in Jacqueline’s art and how she gets people to connect with her work.
• How Jacqueline’s immigrant parents have supported her art career.
• Hear more about Jacqueline’s parents’ background and where they’re from in Mexico.
• How Jacqueline and her family are dealing with the pandemic and how her productivity is holding up.
• Details about Jacqueline’s solo show and the biggest painting she recently sold.
• Jacqueline’s approach to her work and where she got her strong work ethic from.
• How Jacqueline found out about the NRA Grant.
• Jacqueline’s take on politics and what’s happening in the space now.
• Not Real Art’s dedication to celebrating artists that are often overlooked. 

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