Last year, during considerations for the West Oak Cliff Area Plan, one recommendation to make the neighborhood more walkable could have put local auto shops at risk.
But community organizers, including Victoria Ferrell-Ortiz, got auto shop owners to push back and the language for the plan was changed.
Ferrell-Ortiz is the executive director of RAYO planning, an urban planning nonprofit that advocates for fair housing, environmental justice,and community education. She calls herself a barrio historian, an urban planner, and a cultural artist.
The experience inspired her to put on an exhibit that highlights and celebrates Latinx and Hispanic owned auto shop businesses in Oak Cliff. She collected photographs, newspaper clippings and artifacts that showcase the experiences of small business across the community.
“I think about my daughter, Amelie” Ferrell-Ortiz said. “I don't want her to learn about Oak Cliff the way that we learn about Little Mexico. Little Mexico is gone. I want her to be able to come up into her adulthood and see the Oak Cliff that I grew up with.”
Ferrell-Ortiz is the first artist in the Artist in Residency program at Arts Mission Oak Cliff this year. She wants visitors to see the stories of auto shop owners, and leave with a renewed sense of appreciation for preserving history and culture.
“You know, thinking about cultural preservation and people's right to stay in their neighborhoods without being towered over by development,” she said.
The “Este Lugar Importa” exhibit is in the underground gallery space in Arts Mission Oak Cliff, and on view until April 27th. The exhibit is free, but viewers must make an appointment through Eventbrite.
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This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access’ journalism.
