Photo courtesy of Haide Vazquez.
Haide Vazquez said growing up she felt like she didn’t have a strong art support system. She wanted something that supported her passion and her background.
So she created that something through Cima Arts, a nonprofit organization that aims to expand the arts in marginalized communities, with co-founder Juanita Jimenez.
“We always joke about how this is our love story,” Vazquez said with a laugh. “We’re not together by any means, but we are partners of Cima.”
Coming back to Dallas after graduating with a degree in photography and minor in art history, she said she felt there needed to be more opportunities in the fine art industries.
“We never see people within their community that look like us, that grew up here our whole lives,” Vazquez said.
Cima Arts formed in 2021, to create a safe space and encourage artists of color and underrepresented groups that there are suitable careers in the arts, she said.
They plan everything from art installations to community carnivals to fund those passions. Their first event was called “Capriccio” and was centered in Oak Cliff. Vazquez said it was an opportunity for her to integrate herself into the community in a time of transition and included a gallery, along with musical performances.
“The more we did the shows, we decided to become a nonprofit to help us have more opportunities within the grants,” she said.
From there, Cima Arts has been able to collaborate on a larger scale, working with the City of Dallas and curating the annual Oak Cliff Art Walk. Not only being rooted in creating art spaces, Cima Arts is truly rooted in community.
“There’s still a lot more that we need to learn, but as of now, it’s been a good start working with the city and getting funding from them,” she said. “I would say it was definitely a push and it’s made our events better in a way we’re able to provide things with people whether it’s free drinks or free entrance and so on.”
Vazquez said she hopes to continue to develop and reach the community in a new way. The goal is to one day own a studio space to allow for workshops, an event space, a dark room, and computers.
“It’s not accessible to everybody,” she said. “So ideally, we would like to have a space that surrounds itself, kind of like a school library with those resources for people to come in.”
The space could potentially include a membership based style and the events could be held by Cima Arts or other organizations who want to utilize the space.
“If you have an idea and you would like to work with us and reach out, and just find a way to make it happen, I would encourage you to speak to us because that’s what we’re here for,” she said. “We’re here to curate for the community and just provide that space for people to create.”
Disclaimer: Advocate Media is a partner of Cima Arts.
