Maggie Nava

My book Raíces based on my indigenous background from Guerrero, Mexico, addresses and repairs the cultural erasure I experience. The photographs within the book exude the warmth and vibrant colors of native Mexican plants, foods, and family interaction that recall my memories and traditions. The sequence offers an introduction of the plant followed by a detail of it presented with textiles made by my grandmothers and then ends with the plants name written in my mother’s handwriting. The 40-page accordion book extends over 20 feet in length, inscribing and representing my deep cultural roots and preventing further erasure. 

Maggie Sofia Nava is originally from Omaha, Nebraska. She will graduate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Photography in December 2022. She was a collections management intern for Robert and Karen Duncan’s private art collection in 2021-2022. Her work has been included in 35^th Annual Undergraduate Juried Exhibition (2021) where she was honored with an Entry fee Award.