On Nov. 7, the Alcove Centre for the Arts hosted Stories of This Land, a community mural-making workshop led by Matias Martinez — a multidisciplinary Latinx-artist who’s also the co-founder of Como se Dice. Stories of This Land invited participants to share their personal stories and connections to Mohkinstsis Treaty 7 land by adding individual art panels to a community mural.
The launch of Stories of This Land offers insight into Martinez’s creative process and his approach to community art. For him, public art goes beyond murals and sculptures. It includes everything from street performers and open mic nights to video augmented displays such as projection mapping. Public art, he said, showcases how creativity is able to foster connections that strengthen collective bonds.
“I feel like public art has a direct impact on how healthy a community is,” said Martinez.
While Martinez graduated from school as a glass blower and still teaches classes from time to time, he considers his artwork to be multidisciplinary.
“I guess my medium as an artist nowadays is mainly painting, but in a very experimental manner,” said Martinez, who is also a commissioned mural artist in the city.
“I would also like to say that social practices is a medium of mine,“ said Martinez.
For Martinez, fostering connections through art is just as important as the artistic process itself. Over time, his work has become deeply tied to identity exploration and community-building.
“As a Latinx artist, I feel a lot of responsibility to my parents and my friends and just the community to grow,” Martinez said.
Martinez is also the co-founder of Calgary’s newly established art collective Como se Dice. The name is a Spanish expression that roughly translates in English to: “How do you say that?” He describes the collective as a reflection of his dreams, a space for exploring identity that unites the city’s most inspiring young Latinx artists while fostering growth and collaboration.
The Como se Dice collective aims to be the heart of Calgary’s cultural landscape, inviting Latinx and allied communities to join in celebrations, workshops and meaningful discussions.
“Como se Dice is an intergenerational phrase,” said Martinez. “It’s a phrase I used to learn Spanish when I was young, but it’s also a phrase that my grandma used to learn English when she was immigrating. So I think it’s one of the phrases that really brings everybody together.”
At Como se Dice, workshops and events often tie into cultural themes aimed towards expanding programs for the general public. It works as a safe space to learn English, make art, raise awareness about social justice topics and celebrate the vibrancy of the Calgary collective.
At the community mural, Patricia Toole, a friend of Martinez, was excited to participate in the community mural activity. An artist herself, she has been to other public art events hosted by Martinez who said, “There’s always a kind of a kinship you find there that I don’t think you find in other places.”
The Stories of This Land mural was unveiled on Dec. 2, 2024 and is displayed at street view, next to the front entrance of the Alcove Centre for the Arts.
“It serves as a love letter to the city,” said Martinez.