Juan William Chávez
Juan William Chávez is an artist, activist, and director of Northside Workshop. His studio practice focuses on sculpting space within urban ecosystems through partnerships and collaborations as a way to address social and environmental issues. His work includes public sculptures, multimedia installations, paintings, drawings, and unconventional forms of beekeeping and agriculture. His exhibitions focus on themes of the urban environment, ecology, sustainability, craft/labor, activism, identity and archaeology of place.
Chavez has exhibited at ArtPace, Van Abbemuseum, McColl Center for Art, Tube Factory Artspace, 21c Museum Hotel, Laumeier Sculpture Park, and Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. Most recently Chavez’s work was included in El Museo’s survey of contemporary Latinx art, ESTAMOS BIEN - LA TRIENAL 20/21. His interdisciplinary approach to art has gained the attention and support of prestigious institutions like the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, Creative Capital, Graham Foundation, ArtPlace America, Andy Warhol Foundation, and Art Matters Foundation. Chávez holds a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Indianapolis Bee Sanctuary, 2018
Indianapolis Bee Sanctuary, 2018
Mesa, 2018
Mesa Hive, 2018
Mesa Hive (detail), 2018
Survival Blanket (Decolonizing the Hive), 2023
Courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center
Decolonizing the Hive: Native Bee Stewardship Network, 2023
Collective Impact: Growing Safe Spaces, 2022
The Indianapolis Bee Sanctuary, 2008