Camila Leiva

Visual Art- public art and muralist


Minneapolis
May 2021

Community mural artist Camila Leiva is the daughter of a Minnesotan mother and a Chilean father, and was born in Santiago, Chile during the final years of the military dictatorship. A self-described bridge-builder, Camila identifies with Nepantla, a concept from Chicana feminism describing those who exist between multiple worlds. This space of in-betweenness has granted her the ability to build community across difference, and she brings that to her art practice.

For her project, Camila facilitated storytelling and knowledge sharing about plant medicine and vegetable growing with a committee of Latinx, Prairie Island and Red Wing community gardeners. This process transformed into four 5ftx5ft Plant Wisdom Murals, painted by the community on May 22 & 23 and installed in places of significance later in the year.