Anel I. Flores

As an evolution of the Xicana/e movement in art and literature, now infused by latina/e transfeminism, intersectionality, queer politics, culture and resistencia, Anel I. Flores’ 25 year creative career has manifested as poetry, fiction, graphic memoir and paintings. Their creative process oscillates between disciplines in search of ancestral healing, present day joy, gender and bodily autonomy, and the re-centering of Latina/e, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Womyn, Femmes and Gender Non-Binary folks. Through the principles of Participatory-Action-Research and deep listening, Flores’ work is an access point for viewers to engage against binary thought and into dreams of a world where we live at our fullest. Flores' awards include the Mellon’s Foundation Democratizing Racial Justice Artists in Residence Award, the Radical Imagination Catalyst for Change Award, Distinguished Writer in Residence at OLLU,  Participatory Action Research Project Fellow with SFA, the Catalyst for Change Award, Women’s Advocate of the Year, Nebrija Creadores Award from the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares in Madrid, Spain, Chingona in Literature, Ancinas Award at Squaw Valley, NALAC Fund for the Arts, the Accion Women Inspiring Women, Yellow Rose Educator Award, and the Mentorship Leadership Award.  Her visual art most recently was exhibited in her retrospective, I Am Home, with  Invited Artists in  Queer Kinship at the Mexican Cultural Institute of  San Antonio, and previously in  Nuestra Delta Magica with the NYFA, TransAmerican at the McNay Museum, Tex Pop Museum and Centro de Artes. During her 30 year career as an artist, Flores’ work has been showcased and published in and at over 100 venues. They hold their MFA in Creative Writing and is author of forthcoming novel, Curtains of Rain with Jaded Ibis Press and Empanada: un cuento lésbico en probaditas with Flowersong Press, Lambda Literary Award nominated book, Empanada: A Lesbiana Story en Probaditas, and chapbooks Behind the Book-Bag and La Fea. Among various publications, Flores’ work can be found in Camino Real, Fifth Wednesday, RiverSedge, Entre Guadalupe y Malinche Anthology, Queer Spiritualities, Rooted: A Queer Women of Color Anthology, El Mundo Zurdo, The Brillantina Project, Sinister Wisdom, This City Is A Poem, Raspa Magazine, OutInSA, Iungo Arts, Lodestar Quarterly, Pitkin Literary Review and La Voz de Esperanza. Her play Empanada has been produced regularly since 2002 throughout the country. Flores is co-founder of Queer Voices Speak Out, Co-Founder of LezRideSA, and a member of the San Antonio Mayor’s LGBTQIA Task Force. They were Co-Reviewer and Co-Committee Member of El Mundo Zurdo Conference, organized by the Society for the Study of Gloria Anzaldúa, previous Board Member of Macondo Writers Workshop, The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, San Antonio Youth Literacy and Pride Center San Antonio. Flores is a co-founder of Queer Voices Speak Out, Co-Founder of LezRideSA, and member of the San Antonio Mayor’s LGBTQIA Task Force. She is currently in the process of completing her graphic memoir titled, Pintada de Rojo. Her teaching career includes 11 years in public high school, college, and university along with 4 years in Arts Administration, and various community literary workshops. She is currently in the process of completing her graphic memoir, Pintada de Rojo and editing two anthologies: I Love Us and You Are Not My Real Mom.