Karla Diaz is a writer, teacher, and multidisciplinary artist whose work spans painting, installation, video, and performance. She uses storytelling and graphic narrative to question identity, explore memory, and challenge institutional power. Through her work, Diaz engages in socially conscious collaborations, sparking critical conversations within diverse communities. Her vibrant paintings draw inspiration from her dreams and everyday experiences, often depicting portraits and landscapes reflective of her upbringing in Los Angeles and México.
This project has been produced by 18th Street Arts Center (18SAC) and is informed by 18SAC’s longstanding work with Diaz and with the Quinn Research Center (QRC), an archive of Black life in Santa Monica that has been digitally archived by the Santa Monica Public Library. 18SAC is one of the top artist residency programs in the US, and the largest in Southern California. Conceived as a radical think tank in the shape of an artist community, 18SAC supports artists from around the globe to imagine, research, and develop significant, meaningful new artworks and share them with the public to foster radical imagination, empathy, and positive social change. The QRC is an archive and educational resource that promotes the study and research of Black family history and culture in the Santa Monica Bay Area, and a place of inspiration and empowerment for future generations.