About


Carlos Flores (b. 1992 Guadalajara, Mexico) is an uncategorized artist, community organizer, curator, and arts administrator based on the Southwest Side of Chicago. He received his BFA from UIC in 2016 and has since received recognition and awards including 3Arts, United States Artists, The Luminarts Cultural Foundation, and the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures. Past exhibitions include the Hyde Park Art Center, Heaven Gallery, and Ox-Bow School of Art, with upcoming shows at The National Museum of Mexican Art and Roots and Culture. His work is informed by his experiences as a queer Latinx immigrant on the West Side of Chicago and brings viewers face to face with issues of environmental racism, displacement, gender, and race. 

In addition to his visual arts practice, Carlos co-runs Chicago Art Department, a community art center in the Pilsen Neighborhood of Chicago. CAD offers residencies for twenty civically-minded artists and over 100+ free programs and exhibitions to the community annually. Leading programming and the larger organization has morphed into an extension of his studio and community practice. Carlos is very passionate about cultivating communities and artists to look at our city and country with a critical eye.

Carlos is a life-long gardener and recently launched a small scale urban flower farm in Archer Heights called Rocio Flower Farm. The micro farm, which runs out of his home, was inaugurated in the spring of 2022 and aims to be a form of ecological protest. Rocio Flower Farms grows primarily native plants and perennials from the Great Lakes Region that are combined with “weeds” collected from the industrial corridors of the city to create unique statement pieces with an environmental message.



WEBSITE & SOCIALS 

carlflores.com

@cxrlxsflxrxs

@rocioflowerfarm


Education

2020 –   

Visual Arts Certificate Program, University of Chicago Graham School

2016 –  

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago


Residencies / Fellowships 

2017 –               

Ox-Bow School of Art Fall Residency, Saugatuck, MI

The Center Program, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL 

2016 –                 

Luminarts Visual Arts Fellow, Chicago, IL

LAUNCH Invitational Residency, Chicago Artists Coalition


Curated & Organized Projects

2022 – 

Seeds In My Pocket 2022, Chicago IL

MDW Fair, Mana Contemporary, Chicago IL *forthcoming*

Heaven Gallery Nubes Art Fair, Chicago IL 

Contra Corriente, Chicago IL 

2021 – 

Lit & Luz Festival at CAD, Chicago IL

Seeds In My Pocket, Chicago IL

2020 – 

Long Time No See, Chicago IL

When We Fight We Win, Chicago IL

Tirar y Soltar, Chicago IL

2019 –

Caravana Mx, Chicago Cultural Center 


Achievements / Awards  

2022 – 

Inaugural 3Arts Ignite Award in partnership with The Andy Warhol Foundation

2021 – 

Actos de Confianza, National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, United States

DCASE IAP Grant, Chicago IL

2020 – 

United States Artists Grant, Chicago IL

2017 – 

Full Scholarship, The Center Program, Hyde Park Art Center

Fall Artists Residency Stipend Award, Ox-Bow, Saugatuck, MI       

2016 – 2017 

Luminarts Fellowship Award, Luminarts Foundation, Chicago IL

Education Advisory Group member for the Chicago Artists Coalition

2016 – 

UIC Faculty Award for Art, School of Art and Art History, University of Illinois at Chicago 

Talent Tuition Award, School of Art and Art History, University of Illinois at Chicago

2015 –          

Talent Tuition Award, School of Art and Art History, University of Illinois at Chicago


Exhibitions / Artist Talks 

2022 – 

Ofrenda A Los Arrancados, National Museum of Mexican Art *forthcoming*

MDW Fair, Mana Contemporary, Chicago IL *forthcoming*

Nubes Art Fair, Heaven Gallery,  Chicago IL 

POCAS SALON + Contra Corriente 2022, Chicago IL

2021 – 

Roots and Culture Contemporary Art Center, Chicago IL  *postponed*

2020 – 

Artist Run Chicago, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago IL

We’ll Figure It Out, Chicago Art Department, Chicago IL

2019 –

Made In the Fab Lab, Polsky Exchange, Chicago IL

Post Practice,  Chicago Art Department, Chicago IL

2017 – 

Front & Center, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL

2016 –                

Project Zero Waste, Hostel Earphoria, Chicago, IL

Villarte, 11th annual Arts Festival, Chicago, IL

Luminarts Visual Arts Competition Exhibition, Union League Club of Chicago

As Little Defined As Anything Else, University of Illinois at Chicago

2014 –                  

Introspection: Anatomy of the Interior, 5th Floor Gallery, University of Illinois at Chicago



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