{"id":237852,"date":"2015-08-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-08-07T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/inocente\/"},"modified":"2015-08-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-08-07T07:00:00","slug":"inocente","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/inocente\/","title":{"rendered":"Inocente"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the streets, to Hollywood and ArtWalk<\/strong><\/p>\n

Por Luc\u00eda Viti<\/p>\n

Inocente, Downtown\u2019s artistic superstar, will be showcased among 200 local, regional and international artists at ArtWalk NTC at Liberty Station<\/a> on Saturday Aug. 15 and 16.<\/p>\n

Nestled against a backdrop of the historic Naval Training Center (NTC), now San Diego\u2019s largest arts and cultural district, Inocente will present her art for the first time since the release of the 2012 Academy Award-winning Best Short Documentary bearing her name.<\/p>\n

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Inocente brings her colorful art to ArtWalk NTC (Courtesy Olive Solutions)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 40-minute, first person narrative features a then 15 year-old undocumented immigrant who used art to escape a life punctuated by domestic abuse, homelessness and the constant threat of deportation. Shuffled between shelters, hotels, apartments, garages and even parks, Inocente, along with her mother and two younger brothers, moved more than 30 times in nine years.<\/p>\n

Sporting a relentless spirit, the young Latina serves as a snapshot of America\u2019s new face of homelessness \u2014 children \u2014 while depicting the survival of a nomadic existence through the healing power of art.<\/p>\n

Today, the 21-year old rising icon is excited to be home, sharing recent works she describes as more mature and less messy than her former pieces. Unlike a dreary world crowded with remnants of bleak surroundings one would think Inocente would paint, the abstract pop artist sweeps extraordinary strokes of shiny, sparkly, \u2018happy\u2019 colors and splashes of texture across canvases of all sizes. As an advocate of social issues and the plight of endangered animals, Inocente portrays characters of resilience and tenacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to show everyone how my art has grown from messy and thick with paint to mature yet still colorful pieces,\u201d said the diminutive beauty. \u201cI\u2019ve added clean and flat characters created from my imagination and animals \u2014 whales, sharks, bunnies and elephants \u2014 to bring attention to their plight,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople connect with plight. Elephants are being killed for their tusks and more bunnies are left abandoned in San Diego than any other animal. Every painting comes from the heart. I even include a personal story that relates how I feel with each piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

Refusing to acknowledge her last name as a vestige of an abusive father, Inocente\u2019s imagination stems from years of roaming the streets of Downtown San Diego.<\/p>\n

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Inocente loves to paint at risk animals to raise awareness (Courtesy Olive Solutions)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI was too young to understand homelessness,\u201d she explained. \u201cMoving around seemed normal until middle school. I didn\u2019t wear a sign on my head saying I was homeless so our schools didn\u2019t always know. Kids were outspoken about my clothes [second hand donations of tutu-tutus, colorful leggings and high tops] and picked up on feelings and fears that I tried to hide. I painted my face with wild swirls and dots because I thought it was fun. But as I got older, I realized that our lives were far from normal and people thought I was weird.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carmela, Inocente\u2019s mother, collected cans between working odd, cash-under-the-table jobs that never made enough money to pay rent. When the family took refuge in a public park, Carmela would stay awake to protect her children from impending danger. At her lowest point, the distraught parent took 11-year old Inocente to the Coronado Bridge, urging her daughter to hold her hand and jump. Inocente\u2019s refusal and ultimate survival remains a lost memory.<\/p>\n

One shelter referred the children to San Diego\u2019s Monarch School, an institution dedicated to schooling homeless youth \u201cwho experience complex trauma through ongoing exposure to a lack of shelter and basic necessities.\u201d The Monarch School became pivotal for Inocente\u2019s introduction to art.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Monarch School helped me in so many ways,\u201d she said. \u201cNot only did I fall in love with my art classes, I was able to eat, shower, sleep and do my laundry with a community of people going through the same experience. I was fortunate to attend art classes especially since art is now often the first program to be taken out of school.\u201d<\/p>\n

By age 12, the self-confessed chronic doodler was also attending art classes at ARTS: A Reason To Survive, a National City-based nonprofit organization that provides educational art, college prep and career programs to kids and young adults dealing with homelessness, domestic violence and illness.<\/p>\n

At 15, Inocente painted her first mural. Within months she was one of two students selected for ARTS\u2019 annual show and given three months to produce 30 pieces. She sold 29, raised $12,000 and donated $6,000 to ARTS.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat 15 year-old needs that kind of money?\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ll always donate back to my arts. Being an artist is hard. Art\u2019s a want not a need. Art adds happiness to your life, but life as an artist is not an easy road. I\u2019m grateful that I\u2019m now able to make a living from my art and public speaking but I\u2019m not rich. I\u2019m a normal artist willing to spare the $5 coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2009, Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, a husband-and wife documentary director team sought her out through ARTS after seeing her cow in La Jolla\u2019s Parade of Cows exhibit. Sensing an opportunity to help others better understand homelessness, Inocente granted the couple permission to film her. Cameras followed her for two years before releasing Shine Global\u2019s \u201cInocente\u201d on MTV. And despite winning an Academy Award, the documentary was criticized.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause people thought it was too beautiful,\u201d Inocente noted. \u201cThe story was sad but not as sad as people thought it should be. But it didn\u2019t matter. The documentary gave me the ability to show the world the struggles of homelessness. Most people think of homelessness as a drug addict or an alcoholic man pushing a cart down the street collecting cans and it\u2019s just not that way. Many people \u2014 families \u2014 are homeless because their parents can\u2019t work. No kid should go hungry. No family should sleep in the park. Veterans who fought for their country are now living in the street. It\u2019s all so unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite her shy and unassuming demeanor, Inocente spoke easily \u2014 and passionately \u2014 about the film\u2019s relevance in the face of homelessness, immigration and art in schools.<\/p>\n

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Inocente was followed for two years by MTV cameras (Courtesy Olive Solutions)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFor the past three years, I\u2019ve travelled cross country to screen the film at middle and high schools, student conferences, community centers and shelters because the topics are relevant. As long as homelessness exits, as long as kids don\u2019t have a place to live or food even for a day, as long as we don\u2019t have art in schools, as long as we don\u2019t know how to treat immigrants, the documentary will always be relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inocente also stressed the importance of educators in the face of homeless children. \u201cI recently painted a tree made of little dots for the National Education Association,\u201d she continued. \u201cI wrote \u2018love grows here\u2019 because school educators are so important in kids\u2019 lives. Kids spend half their days at school surrounded by the people who influence them the most. We titled the piece \u2018Opportunity Grows Here\u2019 because school is an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inocente explained that without question, art steered her clear of drugs and alcohol. Peer pressure and her difficult life were simply channeled through more and more art.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife at 15 sucked,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing homeless and not having friends sucked. But it sucked for a reason. I wouldn\u2019t be where I am today if I didn\u2019t go through all of those sucky days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inocente now shares her one bedroom, Downtown apartment with her rescued rabbits Luna and Bun-Bun. Aspirations of college remain in the distant future, but only to study art history, convinced that no one can teach her the right or wrong way to paint. Gustav Klimt, an Austrian symbolist painter famous for his use of vibrant gold colors, remains a favorite inspiration. Today she and her family are legal U.S. Citizens.<\/p>\n

\u201cArtWalk NTC at Liberty station celebrates artistry at its finest,\u201d added Sandi Cottrell, ArtWalk NTC\u2019s Managing Director. \u201cAnd what better homecoming for Inocente, San Diego\u2019s resident success story, to celebrate her roots. We\u2019re thrilled that Inocente took time from her busy schedule of crisscrossing the country for film screenings, public speaking and one-woman shows to paint, paint, paint enough pieces to exhibit her work at ArtWalk NTC.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m confident with my calling as an artist,\u201d Inocente concluded. \u201cI realized in fifth grade that it didn\u2019t matter if anyone thought I was good enough to be labeled the best artist among my peers, I felt good enough to be the best. I am and always will be positive about life. We were homeless yes, but I knew that other families were suffering worse. It didn\u2019t make me happy knowing that others were suffering, it just made me realize how to appreciate the tiny little things.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live very day like it\u2019s a gift,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t focus on mistakes or what happened yesterday. If I get stuck there, I\u2019ll never move forward. And I can\u2019t change the past. So there\u2019s only one way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

ArtWalk NTC will be held Saturday, Aug. 15 and Sunday, Aug. 16, from 10 a.m. \u2013 6 p.m., at Ingram Plaza, located at 2645 Historic Decatur Rd., in Liberty Station. Admission is free. For more information, visit artwalksandiego.org\/ntc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Lucia Viti is a local freelance writer. Contact her at luciaviti@roadrunner.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the streets, to Hollywood and ArtWalk By Lucia Viti Inocente, Downtown\u2019s artistic superstar, will be showcased among 200 local, regional and international artists at ArtWalk NTC at Liberty Station on Saturday Aug. 15 and 16.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":237853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Inocente","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}