{"id":24298,"date":"2023-11-14T20:06:22","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T01:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/?p=24298"},"modified":"2023-11-27T23:47:40","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T04:47:40","slug":"mixed-on-campus-13-naomi-rodriguez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/2023\/11\/14\/mixed-on-campus-13-naomi-rodriguez\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixed on Campus #13 – Naomi Rodriguez"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Name<\/em>: Naomi Rodriguez
Mix<\/em>: Black & White (Colombian-Puerto Rican)
Major & Year<\/em>: Interarts Performance (Stamps & SMTD); Junior<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born and raised in Miami-Hialeah, Florida<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: How has being mixed affected your campus experience?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I never realized how my looks are perceived until I was placed in the context of a predominantly white space. Being mixed began to cause confusion to people I meet to the point where I became confused with myself. I became so insecure about my closeness to a community and what community would even claim me. Because of that, it took me such a long time to find people I can relate to and feel welcomed. Even to this day, sometimes I feel hesistancy, from myself mainly, because of my lack of confidence in a space. However, the friends I’ve been making in these communities have helped me feel more comfortable being me; the combination of what my ancestors came to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What do you wish more people knew about the mixed experience?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: That it is very complicated. Sometimes people ask me questions about things as if I know, or I’m expected to speak for a community. Especially as an artist, a lot of my work is informed by my experience and the stories of my family, and sometimes I’m tired of my art being seen as a ‘protest.’ I make things to tell stories of my family and the ancestors I never got to meet, it helps me understand my story and bring communities together. It’s tiring having to educate people especially when your history is tied to colonialism and slavery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What is your proudest moment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I finally made a piece titled “chains & links,” that comments on my mother heritage and ancestry, which is Afro\/Indigenous Colombian. It finally felt like a perfect combination of what my mother has taught me growing up while teaching her about the care of textured hair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What are you most anxious about right now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I’m anxious about the stories of my people disappearing. In Latino America, a lot of history related to slavery and indigenous peoples are becoming lost especially through immigration, and I think it’s our generations love and honor that needs to continue thee stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What kind of person do you aspire to be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Someone who is a listener. There is so many people with their own stories to tell and I hope to become a space that can have people feel welcomed and heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Who is the most influential person in your life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: My mother. Everything I do has been in honor of her. My work is an extension of her passion and I hope to one day bring her into my work and we both become creators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mixed on Campus was inspired by the Humans of New York project. The purpose of Mixed on Campus is to give a voice to this university\u2019s mixed community and shed light on its members. Being mixed means to be multiracial, multiethnic, and\/or a transnational adoptee. Through Mixed on Campus, mixed students have the opportunity to have their portrait drawn and share their experiences!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Name: Naomi RodriguezMix: Black & White (Colombian-Puerto Rican)Major & Year: Interarts Performance (Stamps & SMTD); Junior Born and raised in Miami-Hialeah, Florida Q: How has being mixed affected your campus experience? A: I never realized how my looks are perceived until I was placed in the context of a predominantly white space. Being mixed began […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2263,"featured_media":24299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1334],"tags":[9,1856,1381,1030,2014,80],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24298"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2263"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24298"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24431,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24298\/revisions\/24431"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}