Meet the Making It Public for MA Artists Facilitator and Guest Speakers

Making it Public (MIP) for Massachusetts Artists is a free five-week virtual workshop series designed by Forecast Public Art (FPA) to support artists of all disciplines in exploring and expanding their public art making practice. At the conclusion of the workshop series, participating artists will be better equipped to respond to a Call for Temporary Public Art and foster more vibrant and equitable public spaces through artmaking.

The 2025 Artist Track training will take place virtually on Tuesdays from 5:00-6:30 PM ET, March 4- April 1, 2025.

Learn more & Register

Facilitator

Cándida González

Candida is outside. They wear a loose fitting button down, opened to reveal a white tank and long necklaces. They have tattoos on their arm and wear one earring. They have light brown skin and a short haircut that is brushed to one side. — Cándida González | photo by Diana Albrecht

A queer, trans non-binary mixed Puerto Rican born in South Minneapolis, Cándida González (they/them) studied Latin American Art and History at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, and went on to get their Masters of Education at The University of Minnesota in 2003. They approach their work by centering at the intersection of art, activism, healing and personal/community empowerment. They work nationwide as a public art consultant, curriculum developer and workshop facilitator as well as a jewelry and installation artist.

Guest Speakers

Lani Asunción

Lani poses in front of a red and white striped work of art. They have short brows and long dark hair. They wear a mesh and black top. — Lani Asunción | photo by Melissa Blackall

Lani Asunción (they/she) is a Filipinx interdisciplinary artist exploring the intricacies of identity and belonging, confronting the inner weaving of intergenerational trauma with ritualized performance and public art that serve as acts of reclamation. Through transmedia storytelling and research, they create socially conscious work that activates counter narratives of collective resistance to settler colonial foundations and points to collective liberation. Asunción's multimedia practice becomes a conduit for connection and disruption, breaking down barriers and inviting participation. By challenging established narratives and amplifying oppressed and marginalized communities, they seek to create spaces where alternative ethics of care, community healing, and social solidarity can thrive. Asunción was born in the Bay Area in California and raised in Tennessee, Oahu, Hawai’i, and the Ryūkyū Islands 琉球列島 (Okinawa, Japan) and is now located on the East Coast in Boston, Massachusetts. https://laniasuncion.com/

Cristian Roldán Aponte

A brown man poses on a stool. Next to him are large paint brushes in a bucket and a a painting on an easel the size of him. — Cristian Roldán Aponte | photo courtesy of Roldán Aponte

Cristian Roldán Aponte, Diaspora Designs Studios’ founder, is a visual artist whose work specializes in the use of art as a tool for the preservation of collective cultural memory, social expression, and community empowerment. Having grown up in Juncos, Puerto Rico, and moving to Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, the epicenter of the Midwest Puerto Rican community, Roldán Aponte's artistic practice is deeply informed by his lived experience on the island and the diaspora. Inspired by Paulo Freire’s educational approach, his public work focuses on the role of dialogue-driven mural projects as a means to create alternative, accessible learning spaces that capture collective history, values, and struggles through visual narratives related to the Puerto Rican colonial reality. Roldán Aponte earned his masters in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2019. His thesis work, Politicizing Public Spaces, explores how community-based murals serve as tools for politicizing public space, empowering marginalized communities to raise awareness about social injustices and foster collective action. It examines the intersection of art, education, and public space in promoting critical reflection, community cohesion, and resistance to colonial legacies and inequality. With over two dozen large murals across Humboldt Park’s Paseo Boricua, other works can also be found in Puerto Rico and Boston. His work has been featured in a range of publications, including the Chicago Sun Times, Chiricú Journal, Contratiempo Magazine among others. Cristian is also co-chair of the Arts and Culture Committee of The Puerto Rican Agenda, a non-profit organization of local leaders that seek self-determination for Puerto Ricans in Chicago, across the diaspora, and in Puerto Rico through policy and advocacy.

Lily Xie

Inside, Lily sits on a stool. She has long brown hair and is Chinese. — Lily Xie | photo provided by the artist

Lily Xie (she/they) is a Chinese-American visual artist and animator whose socially-engaged work explores desire, memory, and self-actualization for frontline communities. She uses her background as an artist and urban planner to facilitate creative projects with a focus on public space, housing, and racial justice. The magic they create together often takes shape in animation, print media, and video.