Color Maíz: Creating collaborative spaces for radical healing

‘Come as you are’ has a new meaning when you enter a space hosted by Color Maíz, a BIPOC, 2S/LGBTQ+ open itinerant art laboratory which started their journey in 2023. 

Originally from Mexico City, Denise Villalva is the founder and lead facilitator of Color Maíz. Villalva expressed starting Color Maíz with the intention of connecting further with local community members around the sphere of art and collective healing in Humboldt County.

The transparency around topics of systemic barriers that many marginalized people face on a daily basis was a defining factor in the creation of Color Maíz. Karen Villa, a current collaborator, received her masters in academic research with developmental psychology from Cal Poly Humboldt. Villa expressed the need for spaces that pull away from current systems in place that often leave BIPOC/LGBTQ+ people feeling more isolated, depressed and discriminated against. 

“It’s not a membership,” Villalva said, “…we are trying to speak about how these oppressive systems depress us and also make life harder…sometimes it’s hard to be creative. But that question of what heals you is present, it can look like a collage or a scribbled piece of paper. We are here to listen.”

A misty Saturday morning on Oct. 12 began with a room full of local community members preparing for an open mic event hosted by Villalva and Villa, social worker and Cal Poly Humboldt Alum. The wood-fired stove at the Redwood Roots Farm Cooperative was filled with fresh wood while water boiled in preparation for tea. Community guidelines were shared as a living document that offered anyone to add any additional guidelines to be kept in mind throughout the event. The open mic component led to an open forum that allowed everyone to share their reason for showing up that day. Roughly 15 people were in attendance sharing personal stories and hopes towards collective liberation. 

“Color Maíz is a space for people to explore, create, heal and build community together. I don’t have all the answers and I don’t have to, because our collective brain is better than an individual one,” said Villa in an email.  

The fill-in zines distributed at the event were just one tangible outcome of co-creation which represented options for how to approach self-care and aiding others when facing a sense of isolation.The title was “Feeling hopeless? It’s not just you” also “Te sientes desesperanzado?” including actionable items for how to help someone expressing suicidal ideation. The compact source of references and mental health hotline number showcases accessibility for underrepresented community members. The zine offers a gateway towards normalizing seeking help and how to make it easier for those struggling. 

“As an artist, I try to theorize how art can be a pathway to social change and Color Maiz makes that possible,” Sage Alucero (they/them), a current collaborator and artist, offered watercolor painting at an event later that same evening called Mushrooms in the Forest. Offering a space for creativity and learning, artists and mycophiles also known as fungi enthusiasts, gathered to learn more about mushroom foraging and water color painting.  

Squeals of excitement echoed through the forest as everyone found several mushrooms and took the time to observe and ask questions. Community members shared that doing art with others was new to them and Color Maíz has continued to create that space where they offer a variety of avenues to express oneself. 

More information and future events can be found on their Instagram page @color.maiz