In this episode of Open Estudios, we talk to experimental photographer Irene Antonia Diane Reece who recently moved back to her hometown of Houston, Texas after graduating with an MFA from the Paris College of Art. 

Reece’s work lives at the intersection of archival and contemporary photography, ritualistic installation and historical research. Combining images and symbolic materials, her work conjures memory and legacy and has an essence of spiritual agency. Outspoken and critical about the overwhelmingly white-centric art world, Reece, an AfroLatina of Black and Mexican ancestry, spoke with us about her passion for cultural and racial equity in the arts.

In our chat, Reece explains how she strives to generate visibility for her ancestors and others with multiracial identities through her art and life. Though trained as a photographer, Irene pushes the medium by combining archival footage and culturally-charged objects to tell her story. With a community-minded ethos, Reece hopes that through liberatory acts of sharing space, she can communicate to those listening: “you belong here just like I do.”