Marta Ayala Minero was born in El Salvador and moved to
San Francisco with her family in 1968. She began drawing and painting as
a
child, and
her
life
and work has been greatly influenced by her uncle Camilo Minero, one of
El Salvador's most respected muralists and a student of Mexican Social
Realist Diego Rivera. She has studied at San Francisco City College, the
Arts Institute Sucre
in
Venezuela
and
San
Francisco
State
University, as well as apprenticing for six years with Susan Cervantes
of the Precita Eyes Mural Center.
Her San Francisco mural work received community awards
for Best Public Art in 1998 and 2001, and she has been featured in the
books, Latin American
Women Artists of the United States by Robert Henkes; Murals: Walls That
Sing by George Ancona, which was written for
students aged 9-12; Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo edited
by Annice Jacoby; The Mission by Dick Evans; and Playborhood: Turn Your
Neighborhood Into a Place for Play by Mike Lanza. These books can be ordered
from Amazon. Please see the bottom of the page.
A large part of Marta's work involves the community and
young people. She has taught mural painting in numerous schools in the
Bay Area and has
collaborated with students of various grade and skill levels. She was commissioned
by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to create a public mural with
the students of Thurgood Marshall High School. Monterey Bay Aquarium selected
Marta from an artist's open call to paint a large mural to used as a billboard
to promote ocean environment conservation to the Latino community in
California.
While Marta continues to create more artwork, including
some new murals being painted in Colma, California, she has also become
involved with the newly founded Casa Camilo Minero Museum in Zacatecoluca,
La Paz, El Salvador. The goal is to create an community art center with
a permanent
exhibit of Camilo Minero's work, as well as additional art and photo galleries,
a dance studio and public meeting spaces.
Thank you for your interest in Marta's artwork. Your visit is greatly
appreciated.
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