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IAC Welcomes Dawn Martinez Oropeza
After
spending years living on the west coast, the Iowa Arts Council’s new Art
Education and Community Programs Coordinator is back in her hometown of Des Moines.
Dawn Martinez Oropeza joined the Iowa Arts Council just after the new year. Although she was born and raised in Des Moines, she has not lived in Iowa since 1988. She most recently lived in San Jose, Calif.
Dawn’s background is in photography and Meso American Studies. She received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her MFA in Installation, Native American and Chicano Studies from the University of California San Diego. She also studied at the Oaxaca Institute for Cultural Studies, where she learned Zapotec weaving.
“I’ve been showing my artwork in galleries and museums since graduating from Dowling High School,” Oropeza said. “I was recently chosen to create an installation at Movimiento de Arte y Cultural Latino Americana in San Jose (Calif.) and will be showing at Works/San Jose gallery in the fall. I hope to start showing in the Midwest again soon.”
Oropeza’s position at the Iowa Arts Council will be to plan and develop programming to support arts education and community arts development. In this role, she will serve as a resource for schools, teachers and local arts agencies and community arts programs.
“I’m excited by all the people I have met so far who are passionate and dedicated to the arts and arts education,” she said. “I look forward to creating partnerships and programs for the growth of the arts in Iowa.”
In her spare time, Oropeza keeps busy with two small boys ages 3 ½ and 1 ½. Her husband, Juan Carlos, builds furniture and Oropeza says she enjoys being able to paint or detail the pieces he creates.
“He is adjusting to life in Iowa and we are so happy about all the new Latino resources — stores, restaurants, community organizations and especially the Spanish speaking programs,” she says.
Oropeza can be reached at 515.281.5773 or Dawn.Oropeza@iowa.gov.
