Dougie Padilla

Last updated
Dougie Padilla
Born (1948-07-28) July 28, 1948 (age 77)
St. Louis Park, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupations
Years active1960s–present
Known for
  • Chicano movement activism
  • co-founding Art-a-Whirl
  • founding Grupo Soap del Corazón
Notable work
  • River Town
  • Pepin Diaries
  • Grupo Soap del Corazón projects
Style
Movement

Dougie Padilla (born July 28, 1948) [1] is a Chicano poet, multimedia visual artist, and activist of Norwegian and Mexican descent. [2] [3] He works in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Pepin, Wisconsin. [4] Padilla has been active since the late 1960s and is associated with Chicano cultural activism and community-based art initiatives in the Upper Midwest.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Padilla is a co-founder of Art-a-Whirl, an annual open-studio event in Northeast Minneapolis, and is a founding member of the traveling art collective "Grupo Soap del Corazón." [5] [6] His work includes poetry, visual art, and collaborative projects, and he engages with themes of identity, ritual, and community history.

Early life

Padilla was tutored by his mother and played piano and French horn as a youth. [7]

Padilla attended Lake Forest College for two years, where he became involved in activism through marches, picketing, and protests. During this time, he connected with Chicano poet and activist Corky Gonzales and other Chicano leaders. In the late 1960s, he worked with Reies Tijerina’s Alianza in New Mexico, furthering his involvement in the Chicano Movement. [8]

In 1968, Padilla moved to California, where he became involved in the social and cultural movements emerging in San Francisco and Berkeley. Following his first heart failure at the age of 20, Padilla’s interest in spirituality deepened [7] and he studied under spiritual teachers Ram Dass, [9] Swami Muktananda, and Suzuki Roshi.

Artistic inspiration and style

Padilla is self-taught in the visual arts. [10] He initially worked in music and poetry before expanding into mask-making and drawing, and later branched into painting, ceramics, and printmaking. [11]

His work draws inspiration from traditions surrounding Día de los Muertos and ritual practices he studied with Native American and African spiritual practitioners. [12] Padilla has also cited the Mexican tradition of ofrendas as an influence. [13] [2] His visual art frequently features calaveras, referencing long-standing Mexican cultural representations of death. [14]

Major works

Grupo Soap del Corazón

In 2000, Padilla and Xavier Tavera co-created the community art group Grupo Soap del Corazón, which aimed to further the "Latinization of Minnesota and the upper Midwest of the USA." The group includes artists from various ethnic backgrounds and origins: Latino, Native American, African, and Euro-American. [15] [16] [17] The collective is mobile and focuses on artwork that is easily transported and translated into different community contexts. As of 2024, they represent almost 90 local, national, and international artists. [18]

In 2006, the group showcased two exhibitions in Valparaíso, Chile, including "El Otro Americano (The Other American)" at El Instituto Chileno Norteamericano de Cultura. [18] The group also worked on the "Pepin Portrait Project," [19] photographing residents of rural Pepin, Wisconsin. [8] In 2021, Grupo Soap del Corazón published a zine, Fabulista 2, featuring political cartoons and poetry by Padilla along with the work of other artists in the collective. This zine features themes related to the struggles of Chicano and Latinx and addresses the political uprising of the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. [20]

In 2024, Tavera and Padilla, alongside the Grupo Soap del Corazón, curated an exhibit with fifteen Latinx visual artists at the Minnesota Museum of American Art. The exhibit, "Hilo de la Sangre" (Thread of the Blood), featured topics such as blood as the "foundation of life," complex lineage, and the cultural symbols of sacrifice and atonement. [15]

Poetry

In 2019, Padilla published poetry chapbooks River Town [21] and Pepin Diary [22] with Luna Brava Press.

Personal life

As of 2021, Padilla lives in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District and commutes to his studio, Dougieland Pepin, in Pepin, Wisconsin. [23]

References

  1. ↑ Padilla, Douglas (2022). "dougie padilla". dougie padilla. Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Tundel, Nikki (2012-01-17). "Artist Dougie Padilla creates loud pieces through meditation". MPR News. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Public Radio.
  3. ↑ "Dougie Padilla". Clay Squared to Infinity.
  4. ↑ "Frontera Lake Street: Six Artists Living in Minnesota". Absolutearts.com. World Wide Arts Resources Corporation. October 10, 2001. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Dougie Padilla and i like you". PBS. Twin Cities Public Television. January 6, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  6. ↑ Meet Minneapolis (2010-05-17). Doug Padilla on the Origins of Art-A-Whirl . Retrieved 2025-01-08– via YouTube.
  7. 1 2 "Dougie Padilla". Twin Cities PBS. 2013-06-01. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  8. 1 2 "Dougie Padilla". Latino Art Midwest. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  9. ↑ Kronsberg, Matthew (2019-08-09). "A Road Trip With Retro Charm—and a Car to Match". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660. ProQuest   2270021124. Full access available to users of The Wikipedia Library.
  10. ↑ Abbe, Mary (February 25, 2005). "Self-taught painter Doug Padilla wrestles with his demons". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Star Tribune Media Company. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  11. ↑ "320: Dougie Padilla." WEDU Arts Plus, Season 3, Episode 20, PBS NC, 2014-07-03.
  12. ↑ Harper, Nick (September 2019). "Solo Exhibition for Art Legend – Northeast Minneapolis Arts District". Art District News.
  13. ↑ Nelson, Rick (2013-10-31). "Restaurant news: Chef Shack and more". Star Tribune.
  14. ↑ "dougie padilla". lucky dougie padilla. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
  15. 1 2 "Hilo de la Sangre (Thread of the Blood) – Minnesota Museum of American Art" . Retrieved 2025-01-08.
  16. ↑ "Hilo de la Sangre". MPLSART.com. MPLSART. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Things To Do in Minneapolis and around the Twin Cities". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
  18. 1 2 "ArtOrg : Grupo Soap Del Corazón". ArtOrg. February 20, 2014. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  19. ↑ Olson, Mark (2018-05-29). "New exhibit at Sower Gallery". SWNewsMedia.
  20. ↑ Grupo Soap del Corazón (2021). "Fabulista Final". calameo.com.
  21. ↑ Padilla, Dougie (2020). River Town. Wisconsin: Luna Brava Press.
  22. ↑ Padilla, Dougie (2019). Pepin Diary. Wisconsin: Luna Brava Press.
  23. ↑ "Dougieland Studios". TravelWisconsin. Retrieved 2021-04-14.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.