Ariana Caraballo
Nosotros
Nosotros is a project centered around empowering young Latinx/Hispanic students to take up the space that they need for their mental health. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, feelings of anxiety & depression within the UML student population rose 90%. With a campus of 18K students where approximately 11% identify as Hispanic/Latinx, I felt that their experiences needed to be heard in order to be addressed.
Artist/Thesis Statement
Nosotros started as a bid for more self soothing spaces on campus to combat the rising anxiety levels across the student population. It has since evolved into a movement focused on empowering young Hispanic/Latinx students to take up the space that they need to heal internally and find peace.
The reason I chose to focus on the Hispanic/Latinx student population is because I myself am Hispanic and the pandemic affected me deeply. After learning that the pandemic contributed to the 200% increase in anxiety levels among the Hispanic communities, I wanted to sit down and address some of the root causes of our struggles with anxiety. I know that for me, personally, it comes from not being able to openly express my emotions or when I’m having a hard time. I know that this is a cultural experience and that as a whole, many of us are taught to keep our emotions in and continue to be strong on the outside.
What Nosotros does is help set up spaces where we’re allowed to be vulnerable and build community with each other. It was important that at the BFA show, that a space be set up with viewers are invited to participate in a conversation amongst each using the cards I’ve designed as a way to help ease into the difficult conversations. Nosotros is built on community healing, inner peace, and allowing ourselves to have moments of vulnerability.
