YO TENGO NOMBRE
The Efroymson Emerging Artist in Residence Program
and the Power of Art to Benefit Diverse Publics
Ruth Leonela Buentello installing Yo Tengo Nombre.
In her exhibition Yo Tengo Nombre, artist Ruth Leonela Buentello explored her cultural identity as a Xicana and a descendent of Mexican immigrants in the United States, contextualized within an increasingly tense present day. The paintings and constructions reference images from family albums and personal memories, along with now-unforgettable news photos chronicling ICE raids, abuse of undocumented immigrants, and children confined in detention centers. Buentello was the institute’s third Efroymson Emerging Artist in Residence. Each year since 2017, an early-career artist is commissioned to create a new work of art as part of a full-scale exhibition. The residency is supported by a $25,000 grant from the Efroymson Family Fund, a unique donor-led fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation, under the direction of U-M alumnus Jeremy Efroymson.
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