Fire Kinship Exhibition Preview: Artist Studio Visit with Leah Mata Fragua

The Fowler’s second PST ART: Art & Science Collide exhibition, Fire Kinship: Southern California Native Ecology and Art, opens on January 12, 2025. It introduces fire as a generative element that connects us to our past and offers a collective path toward a sustainable future. The show presents a living history and expertise of the Tongva, Cahuilla, Luiseño, and Kumeyaay communities. Contributing artist Leah Mata Fragua will share her art and practice during this studio visit.

Leah Mata Fragua is an artist, educator, and member of the Yak Tityu Tityu Yak Tiłhini (Northern Chumash) tribe located on the Central California Coast. A place-based creator, Leah embraces a kincentric approach, which seamlessly blends shared iconography with personal imagery, highlighting the impact each has on the other. She uses a range of materials, from found to organic, traditional to modern, to explore the interconnectedness of land, kinships, and self. Her art reflects how she prioritizes the protection of traditional materials and the continuation of art forms that are important to her community; and demonstrates the intersection between these values and her individual practice.