Meztli Projects

03/28/2026

Journey to Visibility
Tongva Elders Julia Bogany and Marissa Aranda
Augmented reality & sound, 2018

Ms. Julia Bogany’s Augmented Reality artwork is reinstalled at the state park and hosted by

In this augmented-reality artwork with sound, the Los Angeles skyline serves as a stage for the voices of Tongva Elder Julia Bogany and her great-granddaughter, Marissa Aranda. At age thirteen, at the time of making, Marissa introduces herself in her ancestral Tongva language, while the audio records their reflections on what it means to be a Tongva woman today. They describe a shared experience of feeling invisible in their ancestral homeland.

While colonization attempted to eradicate Tongva culture and language, it has been richly revitalized and carried forward by the efforts of Ms. Julia, Ms. Marissa, and numerous other community members. This work is an invitation to deeply engage with knowledge, support, and allyship for the cultures of local First Peoples.

Julia Bogany (1948–2021) was a beloved cultural educator, language advocate, and mentor who shared the enduring presence of the Tongva people and their relationship to this land. She dedicated her life to making the past, present, and future of Tongva peoples and culture visible.

Visit ToBeVisible.org to learn about the work of Ms. Julia Bogany.

03/27/2026

Honoring Ms. Julia Bogany (1948–2021)

Julia Louise Gaitan Bogany (July 16, 1948 – March 28, 2021) continues to live amongst us through her work as a Tongva Elder, educator, artist, cultural consultant, and member of the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians Gabrieleno/Tongva Nation .

For 35 years Ms Julia served as a preschool teacher and continued teaching all of us through her dedication to uplift her Gabrieleno/Tongva community, many times making the drive from San Bernardino to Los Angeles.

Through her To Be Visible projects, she collaborated with artists, organizations, cities, the county, and countless other requests that she said yes to as a means to raise the visibility of her people in hopes that they would be seen, understood, and supported.

She would be very proud of the work taking place today.

A huge thanks to her family and the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians Gabrieleno/Tongva Nation, for supporting her efforts to educate us.

SLIDE 2
In 2021, for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health’s WE RISE, Ms Julia Bogany (Tongva), poet Megan Dorame (Tongva), and artist iris yirei hu constructed a human sundial entitled Pakook koy Peshaax (The Sun Enters the Earth and Leaves the Earth) at The Los Angeles State Historic Park.

Pakook koy Peshaax (The Sun Enters the Earth and Leaves the Earth) was presented in loving memory of Julia Bogany, whose legacy lives on in the hearts of the Tongva community and beyond.





To learn more about the project,
click on the Link In Bio 🔗☀️

03/21/2026

Heartbeat of the Earth
An Intercultural Afternoon of Drumming
- A Spring Equinox Celebration -

Sunday, March 22, 2026 | 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Los Angeles State Historic Park
1245 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Heartbeat of the Earth, An Intercultural Afternoon of Drumming, brings together various drum-based communities to share songs and dance, building and strengthening community ties across Los Angeles. Meztli Projects will feature screen printing stations that produce posters and other pro-immigration resources and materials.

Performances by
Red Deer Singers (Native Drum)
Boma Boriken
and more...

EVENT AREA
- Fire pit near the bridge
- ADA Accessible

PARKING
- Free parking is available along the dirt lot
- The dirt lot has easy access to the walking paths

WHAT TO BRING
- Shade/Umbrella ⛱️
- Bring layered clothing
- Chair/s or blanket/s to sit on
- Water & Snacks

Presented in partnership with the Los Angeles State Historic Park.

03/16/2026

March 22nd from 12 pm to 3 pm
Yaanga: Los Angeles State Historic Park
1245 N Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Heartbeat of the Earth: 🌎
An Intercultural Afternoon of Drumming 🥁

Strengthening intercultural connections through song, dance, and a Spring Equinox celebration.

Free print-making stations and other community defense resources.

Performances by
Red Deer Singers
Bomba Boriken
and more...

Presented in partnership with


at

03/15/2026

March 22nd from 12 pm to 3 pm
Yaanga: Los Angeles State Historic Park
1245 N Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Heartbeat of the Earth: 🌎
An Intercultural Afternoon of Drumming 🥁

Strengthening intercultural connections through song, dance, and a Spring Equinox celebration. 🌱

Free print-making stations and other community defense resources.

Performances by
Red Deer Singers
Bomba Boriken
and more...

Presented in partnership with

📸 by Farah Sosa

03/03/2026

Want to spend the summer with Meztli Projects?

Exhibitions Internship 🖼️
• Duration: Monday, June 08, 2026, and Friday, August 14, 2026
• Compensation: $7,400
• Location: 2337 W. Whittier Blvd., Montebello, CA 90640
• Time Commitment: 10-week period beginning no sooner than June 01, 2026, and ending no later than August 21, 2026
• SUBMIT LETTER and RESUME BY: Monday, April 13, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST

Meztli Projects seeks a Curatorial and Exhibitions Intern to support our ongoing efforts to uplift, resource, and highlight Native and Indigenous artists and their creative journey. Meztli Projects’ commissioned artworks for exhibitions such as The Iridescence of Knowing at OXY ARTS, The Land Sustains Us at LA Plaza, Refractions: Contemporary Indigenous Art (Annenberg Community Beach House, Santa Monica), and To***co Embers at Ave 50 Studio, and several exhibitions for Summer and Fall 2026, will be the core source of the intern’s archival and documentation work.

The intern will help expand our recently developed database/website, ensuring each work contains all pertinent artist information, statements, descriptions, and other relevant content such as artistic intent. To accomplish this, the intern will interview artists and research content related to the artwork. Additionally, the intern will review and analyze our previous exhibitions and learn the technical aspects of organizing and curating exhibitions from a decolonial and Indigenous approach, and support the curation of our upcoming exhibitions. Lastly, the intern will use the information provided to develop narratives that center Indigenous forms of cultural production. The narratives and artworks will be available on our website, advancing the accessibility of artworks by Native and Indigenous artists.

Applicants should be available for work between Monday, June 01, 2026, and Friday, August 21, 2026, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with some weekend dates.

To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to Kenneth Lopez, [email protected] 📧

Art by River Garza

02/27/2026

Kimberly Dawn Robertson's “bead bombs” fasten Native feminist resistance to service poles, reflecting the city back to itself.

02/27/2026

Art as protest.

An Indigenous artist has installed three large peyote-stitched bead panels across Tovaangar (Los Angeles), inspired by seed bombing and yarn bombing traditions.

Over the past several months, Kimberly Dawn Robertson (Mvskoke) stitched approximately 30,000 pony beads into three 18” x 40” panels, now wrapped around utility poles in Cypress Park, Chinatown, and Boyle Heights.

According to the artist, the installations were placed near sites where ICE raids have reportedly occurred. One piece uses medicine wheel colors and was installed on a surveillance “smart pole.”

Robertson described the project as a “creative act of resistance and refusal,” moving beadwork beyond galleries and into the street.

The work blends traditional craft with contemporary public space — bringing Indigenous beadwork into direct conversation with current immigration enforcement and urban infrastructure.

See on the artists Instagram:

02/26/2026

02/26/2026

02/09/2026

Come down and help make some poster and make some whistle kits. If you can’t some down support in helping get more whistles out to community. Slide over for a donation link.

Monday, February 9
4pm and on…
3382 E Florence Ave
Huntington Park, CA 90255