Barbara Mumby Huerta: Art as Memory, Community, and Collective Care
- barbaramumby1
- Jan 12
- 2 min read
By Barbara Mumby Huerta
Art has always been my primary language for understanding the world. Long before I held leadership roles or advised institutions, I was making work rooted in memory, land, lineage, and relationship. My artistic practice continues to be the foundation of everything I do—shaping how I engage community, interpret history, and imagine futures grounded in care.
As an interdisciplinary artist working across painting, sculpture, and mixed media, I create work that holds personal and collective narratives together. Much of my work is informed by
Indigenous knowledge systems, cultural continuity, and the lived experiences of communities whose stories are often marginalized or fragmented within dominant narratives.
Art as a Community Practice
For me, art is not created in isolation. It emerges through dialogue, place, and responsibility to community. Whether working on exhibitions, murals, or studio-based work, I approach each project as an opportunity to honor relationships—between people, histories, and environments.
Community-based projects, in particular, have shaped my understanding of art as a form of collective care. These projects require listening, trust-building, and ethical collaboration. They ask artists to be accountable not only to aesthetics, but to the people and places represented.
Public Art, Visibility, and Belonging
Public-facing work—murals, exhibitions, and installations—has been an essential part of my practice. These projects create visibility where it has been denied and invite shared reflection in everyday spaces. They also carry responsibility: public art must be rooted in respect, consent, and long-term relationship rather than extraction or symbolism alone.
Through curatorial and artistic projects, I have worked to expand who is seen, whose stories are centered, and how institutions engage living cultures rather than static representations.
Intersections of Art and Leadership
My roles in cultural institutions have always been informed by my identity as an artist. This perspective brings a deep sensitivity to process, context, and impact. It reinforces the importance of ethical stewardship, especially when working with public resources and community trust.
Art teaches us to slow down, to question assumptions, and to hold complexity. These lessons carry directly into how I approach leadership, collaboration, and institutional design.
Continuing the Work
Today, my artistic practice continues alongside consulting, teaching, and collaborative projects. I remain committed to work that supports artists, strengthens cultural ecosystems, and honors the responsibility that comes with visibility and voice.
Art is a living practice. It evolves as we do. I am grateful to continue this work in relationship—with community, with history, and with the future we are collectively shaping.
Check out my Leadership & Ethics blog post here
Check out my Press & Media page here
Barbara Mumby Huerta is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores memory, land, lineage, and resilience through painting, sculpture, and mixed media.
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