User:Denijah Jefferson/Luis Alvaro Sahagun Nuño

Luis Alvaro Sahagun Nuño(1982) is a Mexican-American artist/educator. He is mostly known for his concrete-paintings and their deep meanings. Luis A. received a 2020 3Arts award and his story was featured on 3arts.org

Childhood
Luis A. Sahagun was born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and faced a lot of difficulty due to the color of his skin, often referring to feeling "invisible" to those around him in his young year as he was seen as dirty or uneducated by his peers and other adults.

Although these experiences left a traumatic scar on his life, he used said trauma to become more involved in his community to bring awareness to both his life and others who suffered the same fate, from becoming a public activist to leading public interventions and discussions, and eventually branding his feelings and trauma into his future works.

Career
Luis A. Sahagun didn't start out as an artist, but a construction worker. Back then Luis worked with concrete, hardware, lumber, drywall, and silicone, and as an artist he used those skills from his old job to create mesmerizing and personal artwork as an homage to his cultural lineage and to his old life.

His artwork references back to his trauma in relation to how he was treated and outright challenges the racism and violence while crafting them in a way that keeps your eyes. His artwork eventually made it's way to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL, The National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL, DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL, and many more. Luis A. Sahagun is now currently teaching the gains of his life to younger audiences and helping them to understand themselves and appreciate what they have.