Contemporary visual artist and muralist Michelle Angela Ortiz presented a gallery talk for students and the community at Montgomery County Community College on Dec. 12. Her exhibition was on display from Nov. 8, 2018 through Jan. 18, 2019 in the Fine Arts Center Gallery on Central Campus in Blue Bell.

Ortiz is known around the world for her larger-than-life public art displays depicting topics and people enmeshed in immigration and family separation issues—telling stories of individuals that reflect the larger community and the strength and spirit of them all.

The Montco exhibit is of a more personal nature and showcases smaller, more intimate works; acrylic on wood, light boxes and the show’s centerpiece, an empty chair representing the death of her grandmother three years ago, which interacts with a wall-sized mural and digital projection.

Ortiz is a South Philadelphia native, raised by immigrant parents from Puerto Rico and Colombia and says her work is rooted in that upbringing. She considers her current exhibit foundational, representative of the larger works for which she is known. As a whole, it emphasizes the importance and value of telling life stories while honoring the individuals, families and communities behind them.

Patrick Rodgers, director of Montco’s Galleries, was glad that Ortiz was able to contextualize her broader work and community projects.

“Michelle is constantly developing new work and new ideas and using those projects as ways to rethink public spaces or to galvanize community action. It’s hard to teach about public art and community art in a classroom, so I’m thrilled that Michelle can bring that perspective to our students,” Rodgers said.

During the gallery talk, Ortiz, who was recently named a 2018 Pew Fellow, shared videos and digital images of some of the more-than 50 murals and art projects she has created across the country and as a cultural envoy in Mexico, Spain, Honduras, Cuba and other countries. Closest to home, she recently displayed video images on Philadelphia’s City Hall illustrating the plight of a mother and her young son, who had been detained in the Berks County Immigration Center for two years. The installation was completed by the recorded voice of the mother as she described their situation. She held a similar display at the state capitol in Harrisburg in October and November 2018.

She also discussed her collaborative work with communities, beginning in 1999 with groups in Philadelphia and Camden, where she taught painting and created murals representing the realities of life in those neighborhoods—individual stories and struggles.

Ortiz continues to speak out about the challenges and the rights of immigrants and encourages others to become community activists as well.