AGW Artist Spotlight: Czarina Mendoza — Part 1

Welcome to the AGW’s Artist Spotlight! Today, we’re spotlighting artist Czarina Mendoza. Czarina has artwork in the 2021 Windsor-Essex Triennial of Contemporary Art, and will be the inaugural artist of AGW Offsite, which brings the Gallery to a neighbourhood near you! Her work will be on display in the Ford City neighbourhood at 1012 Drouillard Road, in partnership with Mean studio.

About Czarina
Czarina Mendoza is a Filipina-Canadian artist who creates sculptures and installations using found objects. Her work centers around cultural memory and transnational ties. She draws from her upbringing in central Alberta, which magnified her understanding of living as a visible minority in a rural area. Drawing from her family history, she explores the collective experience of home, and uses materials that connect to the labour of the Filipino workforce across the globe. These materials include sundry items such as packaging, soap, textiles and other dry goods. Through her work, Czarina investigates the form and potential of how objects can make new meanings.

Mendoza received her Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Media Art History & Visual Culture at the University of Windsor in 2019. Since graduating, she has been included in the Art Gallery of Windsor’s Conversations: The Windsor-Essex Triennial of Contemporary Art (curated by Lucas Cabral & Ray Cronin, 2021), and has exhibited in Placed (curated by Nadja Pelkey, 2020) at Artcite Inc. She has also worked as a cultural worker at local organizations including the Windsor Public Library, Artcite Inc., Arts Council Windsor & Region and LEFT Contemporary. Currently, she works with Centre [3] for Artistic + Social Practice in Hamilton, Ontario.

Check in on next week’s article and catch up on a conversation between Czarina and the AGW’s Head of Programs and Collection, Julie Rae Tucker!