Christina Sanchez Juarez
Biography
Christina Sanchez Juarez is a Los Angeles based artist, educator, and organizer. A first-generation child of immigrants born and raised in the Sacramento Valley, the arts paved the way for her to access higher education and a lifelong passion for learning and teaching. She is a seasoned arts educator with over 15 years of experience working in urban K-8th independent and public schools. She currently teaches Visual Arts at Animo Pat Brown Charter High School in the heart of South Los Angeles.
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Christina teaches a variety of visual arts concepts ranging from more traditional art mediums, such as painting and drawing, to digital formats such as video, photography, and stop-motion animation. Her approach to teaching is highly influenced by Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB), a choice-based approach to art education that enables students to develop artistic habits through authentic learning experiences and responsive teaching. She believes that all students are capable of learning and as such she creates student-centered learning environments that allow students to find their artistic voices and passions regardless of skill level. Christina is a firm believer in the importance of culturally responsive teaching and designs curriculum informed by her student's needs, interests, and lived experiences.
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In addition to her teaching practice, Christina is a socially engaged artist working in the public sphere. She is the co-founder of the Cocina Abierta Collective, a nomadic experimental “test kitchen” run by a collective of Los Angeles based artists and restaurant workers. Cocina Abierta provides a platform for engaging restaurant workers and consumers in dialogue about the realities of food labor. They organize food-based interventions such as communal cookouts, cooking shows, and recipe swaps in collaboration with diverse community groups. Cocina Abierta is the recipient of several art production grants and residencies, including a commission with the Los Angeles County Arts Commission that spanned from 2014-2016.
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In recent years, Christina’s commitment to social justice has led her to focus her political work within the tenant rights movement. She is an active member of LA Tenants Union, a diverse tenant-led movement fighting for the human right to housing for all. She serves on the Outreach Committee of the LA Tenants Union where she co-facilitates educational workshops in movement building and tenant rights. She is also a member of the School of Echoes, a space for critical reflection on the conditions in working-class and poor communities, including (but not limited to) struggles against gentrification.
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Christina holds a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art, a Master of Fine Arts Public Practice, and a single subject teaching credential in Art.
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