Gina Herrera, The Precarious Jester, 2018, assorted found materials and steel, 84″x44″x33″
Gina Herrera
Chicago native Gina Herrera holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, and an MFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. A resident of Bakersfield, California, she currently teaches art at Arvin High School and Bakersfield College. A United States Army Major and veteran of multiple deployments, she retired from the United States Military after almost 25 years. While serving in Iraq, miles of mountainous trash heaps amidst the devastation of combat galvanized a life-long love of nature into an activist’s calling.
Recent residencies and awards include the Harpo Foundation Native American Fellowship at Vermont Studio Center in 2013, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in 2015, a United States Veteran Fellowship to attend the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences, Ox-Bow Summer Arts Faculty Residency, and a grant from the Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation in 2016, and a 2017 grant from The Puffin Foundation and 2018 Norman Levan Summer Grant for Bakersfield College Faculty.
She is currently creating and exhibiting work in galleries around the country, as well as exploring avenues for creating larger scale permanent public art projects, to bring her message of environmental mindfulness to even more people. Her first temporary public art installation was in residence at the Valencia Town Center in Santa Clarita, California for the first four months of 2016, and an installation was on display from 2017-2019 at the South Bend Museum in South Bend, Indiana.