Oria Simonini
Oria Simonini
Oria Simonini is an artist based in Omaha, Nebraska. She was born in French Guiana to Argentine parents. Her early years were spent sailing and living in Central America, where they settled in Guatemala, in an area surrounded by jungle and rivers. Her family later migrated to the United States, living in Nebraska since her teenage years, although never cutting ties with Guatemala. Oria received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2018. She is a painter, a muralist, and a community organizer. Her figurative work evokes the migrant and refugee experience. Her mural projects involve a dialogue with the community, through workshops and group painting sessions, and by gathering direct input from the people who will live with the piece.
Oria’s celebratory mural depicts Amaya – a young third generation Hmong-American girl – enveloped in a vibrant display of color and symbols. She explains, “all the pattern used in the murals are sourced from textiles, an important visual language used by many to pass down history, traditions and culture. The 3 stencils used on the wall were taken from Hmong paj ntaub (flower cloth); it is said that it comes from Hmong women who communicated with a visual code, onto their clothing when their own language was forbidden. The 3 symbols I chose are the elephant’s foot (luck), the heart, and the home. I was thinking of Amaya’s grandparents, who migrated to Nebraska decades ago, and to have Amaya, who is able to reap the “fruits” of their labor and journey, to be surrounded by luck, the home, and love. Finally the stairs are decorated with birds and flowers from Chiapas, Mexico.”
