Artist Statement & Bio
Michel Flores Tavizón (b. 1998) is a multidisciplinary artist from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, México. She has a bachelor’s in Graphic Design with a minor in marketing and a master’s in Design from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Her body of work explores borderland discourses, focusing on the concepts of migration, “nepantla” and identity through the lens of a transfronteriza. With printmaking, textiles, ceramics and photography Flores Tavizón captures the intersectionality of the U.S. and México border from social, political, economic, and cultural perspectives.
As a recipient of a Presidential Research Fellowship from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, she founded Resistencia Fronteriza. A project that enables a platform for the community to share their own border narratives through art focused workshops.
Michel Flores Tavizón (n. 1998) es una artista multidisciplinaria originaria de Matamoros, Tamaulipas, México. Tiene una licenciatura en Diseño Gráfico con especialización en mercadotecnia y una maestría en Diseño por la Universidad de Texas en el Valle del Río Grande. Su obra explora los discursos fronterizos, centrándose en los conceptos de migración, "nepantla" e identidad desde la perspectiva de una transfronteriza. Con grabado, textiles, cerámica y fotografía, Flores Tavizón captura la interseccionalidad de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México desde perspectivas sociales, políticas, económicas y culturales.
Como beneficiaria de un Presidential Research Fellowship de la Universidad de Texas en el Valle del Río Grande, fundó Resistencia Fronteriza, un proyecto que ofrece una plataforma para que la comunidad comparta sus propias narrativas fronterizas a través de talleres artísticos.
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EDUCATION
2025 | MFA in Design - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
2021 | BFA in Graphic Design - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2023 | EL PASO PRINT PACHANGA - Juried by Rigoberto Luna - Moonlight Adobe Hall El Paso, TX
2023 | MUJER-ERES - Juried by Nancy Moyer - Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts - Brownsville, TX - First Place
2023 | RISO-RAMA - Juried by S.A.RA. - Texas A&M Corpus Christi Weil Gallery - Corpus Christi, TX - Honorable Mention
2021 | INAUGURAL PRINTMAKING JURIED SHOW: BORDER IMPRESSIONS - Juried by Sergio Sanchez Santamaria - La Chicharra Studio - Brownsville, TX
2021 | RISING EYES OF TEXAS - Juried by Rigoberto Luna - Rockport Arts Center - Rockport, TX
2019 | STUDENT JURIED SHOW - Juried by Marcelina Gonzales - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Rustenburg Art Gallery - Brownsville, TX
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 | ÚNETE, ÚNETE - Ponte Creative Studio & Gallery - McAllen, TX
2025 | MUJER-ERES - San Benito Cultural Center - San Benito, TX
2025 | UN TIEMPO FESTIVO - Puente Art Studio - Brownsville, TX
2024 | UTRGV MFA EXHIBIT - Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library - Edinburg, TX
2023 | WOMEN OF RESISTANCE BY PLANNED PARENTHOOD - La Chicharra Studio - Brownsville, TX
2022 | OSO BAY BIENNIAL XXII PRINTMAKING FESTIVAL - K Space Art Studios - Corpus Christi, TX
2022 | PRINTED PUEBLOS & PERSONAS DE PURA CULTURA - Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library - Edinburg, TX
2022 | EL RETORNO AL VALLE: LITERARY LANDMARK UNVEILING & SYMPOSSIUM ON GLORIA ANZALDÚA - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley - Edinburg, TX
2022 | MARCHES THAT MOVE US BY PLANNED PARENTHOOD - Carlotta K. Pettrina - Brownsville, TX
2021 | RENACIMIENTO - La Chicharra Studio - Brownsville, TX
2019 | ENCUENTRO EN LA FRONTERA - Carlotta K. Pettrina - Brownsville, TX
2019 | MUJER-ERES - B&E Art Studio - Brownsville, TX
2018 | DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS - Carlotta K. Pettrina - Brownsville, TX
2018 | PIGMENTED IV - Galeria 409 - Brownsville, TX
2019 | MUJER-ERES - Platform 204 - Harlingen, TX
CURATED EXHIBITIONS
2024 | RESISTENCIA FRONTERIZA - Cactus Valley Art - Harlingen, TX
2024 | MUJER-ERES - Co-curated with Cecilia Sierra - Paper Caper Co. - South Padre Island, TX
CONFERENCES
2025 | NACCS TEJAS FOCO - 30 Years of Hispanic Serving Institutions: The Legacy and Future of Higher Education in an Era of Challenge and Change - Lubbock, TX
2024 | CREARTE - Latino Arts & Humanities Conference - Brownsville, TX
2024 | EL MUNDO ZURDO - Les Atravesades en Comunidad: Coalition Building as Light in the Dark - San Antonio, TX
2024 | NACCS TEJAS FOCO - 50 Years: The Legacy of NACCS and its Changing Landscape, 1974-2024 - San Antonio, TX
2024 | CAA - 112th Annual Conference - Chicago, IL
2023 | 6TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BORDER STUDIES - Transborderism and Reimagining Social Space - Edinburg, TX
2023 | NACCS TEJAS FOCO - Confronting/Resisting the Colonizer Within: A History of Violence, Discrimination/Oppression and Shame - Brownsville, TX
GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS
2023-2025 | Presidential Research Fellowship - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
2023-2024 | Hello Departure Grant - University of Arkansas
PUBLICATIONS
2024 | BOOK CHAPTER - “Mi Casa en la Frontera / My House on the Border” (2024). CURRICUL-ARTE: Artist acts of autohistoria-teoría within borderlands espacios co-written with García, C.S., Rangel, A.A., Vite, L. I., Sandoval, K. Cano, N. & Grimaldo, K. Walking Away: Refusing and Resisting Reactionary Curriculum Movements edited by A. B. Pratt, K. Donley, S. Hatch, & S. L. Tharp, & F. Calderon-Berumen, pp. 219–243. Information Age Publishing.
2024 | ONLINE ARTICLE - Flores, M. (2024, April 24). Mi casa en la Frontera / my House on the border. Critical Forced Displacement.
PRESS
2025 | THE RIDER AT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY - Living in the in-between by Eduardo Escamilla
2024 | PULSE MAGAZINE AT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY - Artivism: The Art Beyond Our Borders by Nina Alegre
2024 | CRITICAL FORCED DISPLACEMENT - BU Center on Forced Displacement Magazine Highlights Plight of Millions Compelled to Flee Their Homes by Alene Bouranova
2023 | THE RIDER AT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY - The art of the border by Fatima Gamez Lopez
2023 | HUGHES TEXAS NEWS - An artist on her journey by Steven Hughes
2022 | TRUCHA RGV - Allyship Through Artivism: A Dialogue with Michel Flores Tavizón by Abigail Vela
2022 | GLASSTIRE - Gallery Round-up: Recent Shows in Brownsville and Harlingen by Liz Kim