Aaron Johnson-Ortiz

Aaron Johnson-Ortiz is a Mexican-American/Chicanx artist based in St Paul, Minnesota. His art focuses on labor rights, immigrant rights, and the transnational Latino experience. Originally from Minnesota, Aaron grew up in Guatemala and in Chiapas, Mexico. His “Workers United In Struggle” mural was named “Best Mural” by City Pages in 2018.

Aaron is Executive Director and Founder of (Neo)Muralismos de México, one of the few public arts organizations in the US that is dedicated to revitalizing and reclaiming the Mexican origins of Muralism as an art movement. Aaron is also a founding member of the Mexican Cultural Arts Alliance (MCAA), the only bi-national (US/Mexico) professional development and partnership-building organization for emerging Mexican-focused arts administrators and organizations. Previously, Aaron served as Director of Arts & Cultural Engagement at CLUES (Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio), where he developed Minnesota’s largest Latino-focused arts program.

At Anderson, Aaron is supporting and partnering with Anton Vázquez in collaborating with Hispanic Outreach of Goodhue County to create a temporary mural and offer public community engagement programs as part of the Anderson Center’s Public Artist Residency.