Cal State Fullerton cinema and television arts student Keila Georgette Aparicio used her own analog collages and poetry to curate a short film. She transformed her multimedia class project from last spring into a solo exhibition. “In the Orchard of Girlhood” unfolds the nuanced layers of growing up in Orange County and is scheduled to open as a gallery takeover at Crear Studio in Santa Ana on Dec. 7. An Artist Talk and closing reception is scheduled for Dec. 14 from 2-4 p.m.
Exploring themes of girlhood and the universal journey of coming of age, the solo exhibition invites viewers into a sun-drenched world of everyday magic, quiet revelations and suburban backdrops. Aparicio weaves personal and cultural narratives into layered, tactile compositions. Each piece is a visual diary, capturing moments of innocence, resilience and self-discovery as they intertwine with the familiar textures of Orange County life.
Aparicio completed the Creative Writing Through Public Art course last spring with Sarah Rafael García, visiting professor of creative writing for the Latinx Lab.
In the intermediate creative writing course, students visited public art on campus and read statements, essays, poetry, criticism, and texts by contemporary artists and writers. Reading assignments and writing experiments of all genres provided consistent writing practice. Aparicio drafted a version of her short film as her part of her final course assignment.