Jackie Amezquita

Jackie Amézquita (born August 10, 1985, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala) is a Guatemalan-American performance artist. She is best known for her work exploring power structures and the effects of them on ourselves and the environment.

Early life and education Amézquita was born in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and lived there with her grandmother until she was about 18 years old. In 2003,

She received an Associate’s Degree in Visual Communications from Los Angeles Valley College and her Bachelor’s in Fine Art from ArtCenter College of Design, and was a candidate for the New Genre program at the University of California, Los Angeles where she earned her Master’s in Fine Arts in 2022. She has compiled what she calls a “visual language” through weaving and the use of her own body. Her pieces challenge the systems of power in the United States by exploring how social settings shape stories and how economic and power differences affect the way people interact with their environment. However, in more recent art work she began to use soil, masa (dough), as well as corn, limestone, and salt. Gemidos de la Tierra (Wailings of the Land/Soil) in Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE) in Los Angeles, California, Spring 2023

Awards and grants

Mohn Land Award (2023) Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts Los Angeles Art Fund (2022) National Performance Network Fund (2022)