Jimmy is the only Chicano/Latino/Hispanic to be awarded a Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship.

His commitment to giving back to our community led Target Corporation to label him as “Someone We’d Like You to Meet,” in a national campaign, and the McKnight Foundation to award him a Virginia McKnight Binger Award in Human Service.

Artist Statement

I am a Chicano artist.  For over 30 years, I have been faithful to the idea that the Chicano artist serves the community, and shares its standards of aesthetics and values.  When I began, the idea of Chicano art was negated by the arts community at large.  It has been only recently that Chicano art is now recognized.  I am excited every day in the explorations that I make.

Biography

Jimmy Longoria was born on a farm in South Texas, and very early on began following his heart through life, attending to the artistry that drove him on. Some of his very first pieces can be seen in Chicago, Illinois and Ontario, California, a display of youth and exploration. He studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Pitzer College in Claremont, California, working with the masters but always retaining his own vision throughout the process. Even though you can see evolution in Jimmy’s work, you’ll also see it has a basic integrity that continues to define his heart. His love of dazzling color and contrast, of multiple layers created with hundreds if not thousands of brush strokes lives in each piece. His anti-gang-graffiti murals are no different, embracing huge spans of wall, every inch covered in a jungle of graffiti-deterring, ribbony paint.

The mural technique and other forms of massive art-making are passed on to industrious but troubled youth in Jimmy’s organization Mentoring Peace Through Art, where he brings kids together project by project, working with them in their neighborhoods of South Minneapolis, Chicago, IL, and even Japan. He and his wife Connie have several successful youth-oriented projects under their belts even as they search out more venues and hone in on populations that need mentorship, and communities that need transformational art. Keep an eye on Mentoring Peace Through Art; the horizon has been defined by this amazing organization and Jimmy’s continuing vision of artful expanses, a hands-on work ethic, and compassion for our future leaders.