Artwork copyright Eileen Jimenez. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2021.

Artwork copyright Eileen Jimenez. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Everything Time Studio, 2021.

Together We Lift the Sky, 2020

Eileen Jimenez
(American | Mexican | Otomi, born 1988)

Location: North Hill Elementary, Des Moines

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Together We Lift the Sky by Eileen Jimenez (Otomi) is the art and message that she wishes she and her community would have had access to "as a girl from the 'hood." She notes, "In my art you will see my Mexican and Otomi stories, the visual representation of my soul, and the colors, culture, visions, and dreams that live there."

This artwork is part of a curated collection by Asia Tail for North Hill Elementary, in Des Moines, Western Washington, in July 2021. The local art selection committee wanted art that reflects their diversity, their values as a sustainable green school, and the 5th grade experience of growth, togetherness, and transitions. The artworks show us that everything is connected. Asia Tail notes “Just as people shape the land, the land shapes us. How we treat our plant and animal relatives matters now and for all the generations that come next.”

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Highline School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Eileen Jimenez (Otomi) creates art grounded in community and influenced by her many intersecting identities. She works to disrupt the dominant narrative and decolonize education. She notes that "I create the art, the structures, and the educational experiences that I wish my community and I would have seen and had access to as a girl from the 'hood... In my art you will see the aesthetics of my Mexican and Otomi stories, the visual representation of my soul, and the colors, culture, visions, and dreams that live there."

Jimenez is an Indigenous queer artist living in occupied Duwamish Territory (Seattle, WA). She was born in southern California, and her family is from Michoacán and Guanajuato in Mexico. She earned a Bachelor of Art degree in French and Francophone Studies from the University of California in Los Angeles and a Master’s degree in counseling. Jimenez works full time at a community college supporting students navigating higher education.