{"id":389958,"date":"2026-07-08T01:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T01:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/389958\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T01:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T01:12:09","slug":"cece-carpio-transforms-memory-into-community-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/389958\/","title":{"rendered":"Cece Carpio transforms memory into community art"},"content":{"rendered":"

For as long as memory serves, visual art has been a means of connection, adaptation and survival for Cece Carpio. Expressed through paper, pencil, ink, acrylic and aerosol paint, or installations that might include sticks, fabric, shoes, bottles, blades, candles and more, the Oakland-based artist\/educator tells stories highlighting the dignity of everyday people and others often overlooked.<\/p>\n

Carpio\u2019s great-grandmother raised her in the Philippines until she joined her parents in the Bay Area at age 12. A shy child able to speak English, but not fluently, Carpio relied on her skilled draftsmanship to establish herself and fit into the new surroundings so different from those in the tiny farming village where she grew up when she arrived in the United States.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She received attention and scholarships in school and fellowships from professional organizations, and that validation led her to pursue a career in art. Eventually, Carpio found artistic purpose not only through exhibits in museums and galleries, but in creating murals and participating in multidisciplinary, collaborative projects locally, nationally and internationally.<\/p>\n

Carpio recently served as galleries manager for the\u00a0San Francisco Arts Commission, and was a public art advisor for the\u00a0City of Oakland. She is now a full-time artist and part of the collective, Trust Your Struggle.<\/p>\n

In an interview, she speaks of the influence her earliest years had on her artistic practices. \u201cMy great-grandmother was quite a magical woman and raised five generations,\u201d Carpio says. \u201cWe lived in a village with dirt roads, huts. She was illiterate, so coming home from school, I\u2019d illustrate stories for her. Harvesting on the farm, we\u2019d talk, but she had few words. For my entertainment and communicating with her, I\u2019d draw.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outdoors, Carpio arranged sticks on soil and scratched images onto leaves, creating art not to display her talent, but to engage. \u201cI use the word \u2018folkloric\u2019 because my work now is still defined by art by the folks\u2014working class peasants,\u201d she says. \u201cThat translates to my getting a lot from what\u2019s surrounding my work and who\u2019s in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Art allowed Carpio\u2019s imagination to expand. (Pictured: \u2018Mountaintops and Waterways\u2019 by Cece Carpio, courtesy of the artist)<\/p>\n

Self-conscious about her accent and hesitant to speak publicly when she was young, Carpio says designing birthday flyers \u201cmade me cool in school.\u201d Art became her method by which to navigate the world. The faces of working class people she saw highlighted \u201cbigger than life\u201d in murals on Bay Area buildings mingled with the Indigenous oral story traditions she held in her memory. Art allowed her imagination to expand. Without having to speak or perform, art provided friends and community. \u201cIt gave me a foundation,\u201d she says. \u201cEspecially for an immigrant. I had a point to pivot from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carpio travels frequently for work, study and solidarity activities. Growing up with limited means\u2014the family did not own a car\u2014makes her appreciate trips to the Philippines. There, the pull of familiar smells, cultural traditions and environment is significant, but travel to any location is valued for the freshness of the experience and unique discoveries, she insists.<\/p>\n

Most works in Carpio\u2019s portfolio center on visual storytelling and present timeless, universal themes that interact with modern culture. The \u201cdialogue\u201d between current events, ancient mythology, history and spirituality is fertile ground. Scratching below the surface opens up community conversations and inspiration to continue building relationships and dreams.<\/p>\n

We Got Us is one example. \u201cWhen the George Floyd verdict was released, folks were out on the street,\u201d Carpio says. \u201cWe wanted to hold each other in this time of injustice. My role was to give visibility to what\u2019s left behind after the protests and rallies are over. I got my homies, paint\u2014and we decorated plywood with hands holding up tools of caring and healing.\u201d<\/p>\n

An installation, \u201cHuktingan,\u201d shows Indigenous women in different parts of the world playing sports\u2014a runner in Mexico, a soccer player in Peru and a basketball player in the rice fields of the Philippines. The installation\u2019s paintings, textiles, sports equipment and other objects are a form of offering, she says, adding that the women and cultures represent what are \u201chot stories to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This year Carpio received a $100,000 Rainin Arts Fellowship. (Pictured: Cece Carpio\u2019s \u2018Tend Your Orchard,\u2019 image courtesy of the artist)<\/p>\n

Carpio in 2026 received a $100,000 Rainin Arts Fellowship. Honored and humbled by the validation, she says the support arrived at a critical moment. \u201cMy livelihood is inconsistent at the current time with budget cuts in the arts,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s inspiring to know there are still institutions that deem my work important. It gives me motivation, space and time to imagine what\u2019s next.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next are projects in San Francisco\u2019s SoMa district and at Reem\u2019s California restaurant in Jack London Square, and a Clinton Park re-imagining in East Oakland.<\/p>\n

To learn more, visit cececarpio.com<\/a> and krfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For as long as memory serves, visual art has been a means of connection, adaptation and survival for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[3799,143,5808,145,144],"class_list":["post-389958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-filipino","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-art","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}