Michelle Inez Hinojosa selected as 2023 Creative Careers Resident

Michelle Inez Hinojosa, a 2023 Master of Fine Arts graduate, is one of three master’s degree-level residents chosen for the Creative Careers Residency, the University of Michigan Arts Initiative announced.

Creative Careers Residency is a transitional program providing support for full-time, self-directed creative practice in architecture, art, and design, performing arts, intermedia arts or creative writing.

While Hinojosa has graduated this year, the Creative Careers Residency grants her a stable network through U‑M to continue to develop significant work. The $40,000 work stipend, health insurance, desk space, and other benefits support residents as they bridge the gap to their next art-making opportunity.

As a resident, Hinojosa will install art interventions on windows in high-traffic areas around the U‑M campus in order to bring joyful color into university buildings while also creating space and representation for Latinx students who can often feel ​“othered” in large, primarily white universities.

This sense of othering can be tied to language differences, immigration status, financial pressures and many other factors. These artworks will reference quilting and textiles from across Central and South America to bring a sense of warmth and home for Latinx students into spaces that can often feel unwelcome and stressful.

The project builds on Hinojosa’s thesis project, featured in the the 2023 MFA Graduate Thesis Exhibition: Seven for a Secret Never to be Told. In the exhibition, Hinojosa highlights her family’s unique migration experiences through multimedia works, including quilting, bold colors, and poetry. Her colorful designs adorn the windows of the Stamps Gallery – and will soon be present in more university buildings. 

Hinojosa discusses her research and thesis project in this video. 

Seven for a Secret Never to be Told is on view at Stamps Gallery through April 29, 2023.