Using acrylic, ink, aerosol, and installations, Cece Carpio tells stories of immigration, ancestry, resistance, and resilience. She documents evolving traditions by combining folkloric forms, bold portraits, and natural elements with urban art techniques.
Living and working in the Bay Area, she is inspired by the cultural potency of communities of color and the prominent history of social movements that have become influential expressions for the rest of the world. The unique and complex narratives in the Bay have been at the forefront of creativity invigorating popular culture and allowing communities to imagine and create another world possible. She paints everyday people who have been invincible to share their thriving presence and to show the dignity and power of their existence. As a visual storyteller, Cece paints to lift up her communities, share their stories and provoke the power of their imagination.
Cece Carpio produced and exhibited work globally. She was recently awarded the Constellation Fellowship by the The Center of Cultural Power and California Arts Council to work in partnership with Sogorea Te' Land Trust in an Indigenous Placemaking project creating visual markers on land sites that have been returned to Indigenous hands. She worked as the Galleries Manager for the San Francisco Arts Commission and served as a Public Art Advisor for the City of Oakland.
She can often be found collaborating with her collective, Trust Your Struggle, teaching, and traveling around the world in pursuit of the perfect wall.