Phoenix muralist blends her art and activism
The surreal artwork of Ashley Macias has been getting a lot of attention lately, popping up on Phoenix walls and rolling by on the side of light rail carts, but she’s not new to this.
Macias was born in California but raised in Arizona and she has been painting for as long as she can remember. She’s been painting professionally for the past 10 years.
When she’s not painting, the selftaught artist enjoys sipping smooth whiskey, reading a good book or using her voice to speak out against injustices.
“(Painting) is more fun for me, I’ve been doing it my whole life. I’ve always been trying to create, I’ve always wanted to do this,” Macias said.
“Trying to develop my own style has taken lots of practice and effort. As artists, we absorb different skills and we
learn from other artists, but I also just really wanted to absorb something that really spoke to me and use those skills to elaborate on my own style.”
Macias’ art was part of a summer of protests
Her downtown Phoenix murals include the rooftop of the Cambria Hotel, inside The Golden Margarita on Roosevelt street and in the Garfield neighborhood.
Macias was also one of the six artists who painted the “Art is Protest” mural last summer as thousands marched across the globe in support of Black lives.
Her portion of that mural features a bright rainbow wrapping around a single fist and her signature image of an eye watching.
“It was our way of giving back to the
community but also showing that we all have come from very different backgrounds, stood in solidarity with everything happening and just wanted to express a lot of the issues that are going on not only within the (Black Lives Matter) movement but also LGBTQ and Trans Queer Pueblo,” Macias said.
“We wanted to show our unity because there’s so many issues that need to be touched on and so many people struggling.”
Though that mural was well-received and even featured in a Phoenix Mercury campaign, Macias said her favorite large-scale mural is one she’s currently working on.
Macias’ current work is her favorite
Once completed, the mural can be found on the corner of Second and Adams streets.
“It’s meant to represent a dream of Phoenix and shows the landscape of Arizona and recognizable things that represent different areas in the community.
It’s like a cosmic dream all these objects kind of floating in space,” she said.
“It’s kind of weird. It’s a little bit more surreal but it’s a love letter to Phoenix.”
The new mural allows Macias to tap into her personal style as an artist and work outside the box, much like her studio work which melds humans and animals with natural elements and bright colors.
How Macias is balancing art and activism
Phoenix muralists have been busy. Several projects have launched to keep artists working during the current pandemic. Macias has been active as well.
“Obviously with everything happening in society I think it opened up a lot of doors but also for a while there seemed like there was kind of a monopoly of who and what was given in the art scene. I think now we realize how important the diversity of artists here are and I do feel like especially as a female artist, it’s changed a lot. People are starting to pay attention to how important our diversity and our messages are,” Macias said.
“I definitely feel like people are coming around more to my style, and we’re starting to break those boundaries. But of course, I would like to do more elaborate things that wouldn’t necessarily fit into the idea of what art should be in the city.”
Macias said over the years she’s realized she wants to focus more on her activism and is passionate about issues surrounding Oak Flat, Black Lives Matter and representation of the LGBTQ community.
“I still want to create art because I love it but I do feel there are systemic issues that need to be presented. I want to be more hands-on and more willing to speak out about it without the concern of how it would affect my reputation but more so because it’s the right thing to do when you have a platform.”