From dance performances to gallery showcases and hidden art exhibits, Artfort 2025 truly had it all. After months of creating and rehearsing, painters, dancers, sculptors and other Boise based creatives unveiled their works from March 26-30 in various locations throughout the Treasure Valley.
The Arbiter reached out to a handful of the talented artists who are a part of Artfort this year to hear about the creative process.
Tropico FM: “Coatl: Ten Perspectives”
Featuring the work of ten artists, this showcase is described as celebrating the “rich expanse of Latinx creativity in Boise, showcasing the works of established and emerging artists whose talents bridge generations and experiences.”
Mariana Jimenez Edwards, a featured artist in the showcase, said the focus on community within the showcase’s creation aligned with her goals as a visual artist.
“Maybe six years ago, I made it my goal to meet other artists like me,” Edwards said. “Then we started doing this showcase with Tropico FM, and it pulled us closer together. We support each other as artists, and seeing our work together — it’s so fun.”
Edwards explained that the showcase has taken place for five years and that it has gradually been narrowed down to focus on ten artists.
Her mixed-media collage-style pieces “Arrojando Luz Sobre La Frontera” and “Respuestas” were inspired by her experience as a high school art teacher. Edwards had her students use their sketchbooks as journals, and she found herself drawn to the style as she worked alongside them.
“I was teaching my students how to use their sketchbook as a journal, I was working along with them, and I got really interested in that — it was just a really fun and portable way to make art,” she said. “The reason why I love doing that is because I can combine found imagery and make it look distressed, make it look like [the] walls are crumbling down and like the imagery is fading in and out.”
Edward’s multimedia piece “Respuestas” features pops of bright pink and embedded cutouts to create an immersive experience. A woman stands in the foreground as sheets of paper circulate in the space around her. This piece is extra special to Edwards as she was able to incorporate artwork from her nine year old son.
The piece “Arrojando Luz Sobre la Frontera” or “shedding light on the border”, as Edwards described it, features a figure of a woman repeated three times, representing multiple generations of Mexican-American women.
“The idea behind that is we as Mexican-Americans … We kind of have this feeling like we have to be different in different situations, and how we respond to things, the whole code-switching kind of thing,” shesaid. “We are from a certain place, our family is from a certain place, but we haven’t really been there. We haven’t really grown up there. So all we have are these memories, or what we have are these ideas, and a lot of those similar ideas bring us together, really connecting with who we are or who we were supposed to be.”
“Arrojando Luz Sobre la Frontera” also includes advertisements pulled from 1950s era National Geographic depicting Mexico and various other magazine clips; a glimpse, Edwards said, into what messaging people in the North were getting regarding Mexico.
In an email interview with The Arbiter, artist Miguel Almeida echoed Edwards’ sentiment of the showcase, establishing a sense of artistic community.
“It is a really cool experience, especially being part of a showcase of all Latine artists,” Almeida said. “I believe most of us are Mexican, and it is really cool to share a space together and tell our stories through art. The art scene in Idaho is sometimes not very diverse so it’s always special to get to share our work together. We got many heavy hitters in the artist line up from our community with two newer younger artists. Shout out to Tropico FM for starting this showcase that has continued to grow each year.”
Almeida provided some additional insight into the overall vision behind “Coatl: Ten Perspectives”, and what the showcase means to him.
“The idea behind the show was to touch on themes of transformation, duality, cultural continuity or ancestral wisdom,” Almeida said. “For my piece I decided to paint my Abuelita Concha making salsa in a molcajete bowl at her home in Mexico. Salsa, and the art of making it, is a connection to my past and has been a tradition long before European countries invaded the Americas and colonized. For me, a lot of Mexican food is very special and a connection to my ancestors and past.”
Almeida’s piece, “Abuelita Concha” features warm, rich shades of purple, yellow, green and terracotta orange. As Abuelita Concha makes her salsa, three birds sit on the windowsill to watch and a pink butterfly is perched on her shoulder.
Honoring his ancestors and staying true to his roots are at the cornerstone of Almeida’s artistic identity.
“I think staying true to my roots as a Mexican-American and honoring my ancestors that came before me has helped shape my artistic identity,” he said. “It is so easy to lose some of that tradition and culture when you live in a state like Idaho that is very white, but I’m glad I kept it and continued to learn more. I want to celebrate the beauty of my culture, the people that have built it and make the community feel proud of who we are.”
Artfort is just a small glimpse into the Mexican and Latine culture in Idaho. Almeida shared the importance of supporting businesses, art showcases and more.
“Support your Mexican/Latine community, their businesses, art, food and the community,” he said. “These are definitely uncertain times for us and it feels like we are being attacked at all angles.”
“The Backrooms”: Art in the hidden corners of Treefort venues
Picture this: You’re strolling the streets of downtown Boise, Treefort wristband on your arm, when you’re pulled into The Shrine basement by the sounds of one of the countless incredible bands taking the stage.
As you descend the stairs, a flashing light in the far left corner of the room catches your eye. Is it another performance? No, instead, it is a surreal sculpture display of what looks to be metal pipes.
Artist Annette Isham created “Entropy Corner”, a multimedia art piece at the Modern Hotel. The exhibit featured projected animations, soundscapes and holographic video to create the feeling of being in a working lab.
“The creative process was an exciting opportunity to merge several elements I’ve been interested in for a long time,” Isham said. “I’ve always been drawn to spaces like back rooms or labs, where the process is exposed and preserved in a way. These environments have a raw authenticity that allows creativity to unfold naturally. I wanted to capture that — showing how the work evolves and offering the audience a chance to experience the process behind the creation.”
The unusual venue for the Backroom exhibits has allowed Isham to have creative freedom.
“It’s been a fantastic opportunity to be part of such a supportive and creative community,” she said. “Plus, presenting work outside of a gallery setting, where there are no expectations, gives the freedom to experiment and engage in a different kind of creative dialogue.”
April VanDeGrift, another “Backrooms” creator, established her exhibit, which was displayed at Lost Grove Brewing with the help of artist Goran Fazil.
“He works primarily in video and often drawing, but he is incorporating his animations on the top of some drawings [and] some paintings that I’m creating,” VanDeGrift shared. “We’re kind of engaging with this idea, or this reality of movement with people. He comes from Bosnia and has moved here in route of other places as well. Kind of this idea of immigration and movement. Each of these round, formatted images will have some animation on there that corresponds to that idea.”
The collaborative experience was something VanDeGrift really enjoyed as an artist.
“It’s about taking on an idea of what you’re trying to get across, and then figuring out different ways that you can communicate that idea,” VanDeGrift said. “As somebody who was born and raised in the U.S., the issues that surround immigration in this country isn’t a topic I normally tackle because it’s not necessarily my content,” VanDeGrift said.
“It is Goran’s content,” she continued. “So, with him speaking [and] sitting down and talking about some of the ideas that he has about his own experiences, listening to his stories … and then trying to come to those stories with both empathy and curiosity and care is how I’m trying to approach this particular problem.”
At the close of each interview, the artists were asked if they see art in any unlikely or abstract places in their day-to-day lives.
With spring on the horizon, Edwards has been noticing shadows and the way light reflects or bounces off of various items.
Almeida finds art in the creation of salsa, which he said tastes even better when made traditionally in a molcajete, a stone tool similar to a mortar and pestle.
Isham finds art everywhere. In textures, interactions, her children’s toys.
“Everyday life is full of inspiration — everything around me has the potential to influence and shape what I create,” she said.
