Maru Garcia

Maru Garcia

Project Lead
Prospering Backyards
info@marugarciastudio.com
1982-Present

Maru García works at the intersection of science, art, and the environment, using mixed media to communicate environmental and scientific information. She is the Founder of Prospering Backyards and Biomedia Studio and is a Getty Foundation grant recipient for her exhibit "Sink: Places We Call Home." She has received numerous awards from the California Environmental Protection Agency, the California Arts Council, the Los Angeles Sustainability Collaborative, and the Clifton Webb Scholarship for the Arts.

Early Life and Education: 

García was born and raised in Puebla, Mexico, but moved to Monterrey when she was 16. She has always been interested in the environment and recalls a polluted river near her Puebla house. Since Garcia couldn’t play in the river, she played on her front patio, which consisted of plants and a fig tree, making little homes for insects and creatures. Her patio was a space where she could connect with other organisms, prompting her to attend Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico, for her B.S. in Chemistry, where she could better understand her surroundings to protect ecosystems. She holds an M.S. in Biotechnology from Tecnológico de Monterrey as well. After being in the scientific field for a few years, García wanted to integrate her creative interests, pursuing an MFA in Design & Media Arts from the University of California at Los Angeles. Since then, she has been working at the intersection of the arts and sciences to inquire into our shared origins with other living organisms, multispecies relations, regenerative practices, and the capacity of living organisms to act as remediators in contaminated sites.

Career: 

García is an artist, researcher, and scientist working across art, science, and the environment. Her work utilizes research and science to drive media ranging from installations to performance, sculpture, and video. She seeks to use her work to create healing, resilience, and regeneration spaces. García’s knowledge and talent have taken her to conferences and exhibitions in North America, Europe, and Asia. She was formerly an artist and resident at the National Center of Genetic Resources in Mexico and the 18th Street Arts Center. She has collaborated with the Art-Sci Center and Counterforce Lab at UCLA. With the Sci-Art Center, she was also an ambassador for Supercollider from 2020-2021. She has worked with the Getty Research Institute in their 2019-2020 Scholar program entitled “Art and Ecology.” Her work has received numerous awards from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the California Arts Council, the Los Angeles Sustainability Collaborative, and the Clifton Webb Scholarship for the Arts.

She currently works with Prospering Backyards, an organization she founded that consists of community members, scientists, artists, and activists working to create alternatives to reduce environmental exposures in backyards. García is a Getty Foundation grant recipient for her “Sink: Places We Call Home” exhibit with Self Help Graphics & Art. The work will be presented in the Pacific Standard Time Art x Science x La in 2024. Furthermore, she is an Associate Research Scientist in Mineral Sciences at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. In addition to Prospering Backyards, García founded Biomedia Studio, a collection of art and media informed by science.

Importance of Mentoring: 

Numerous mentors have helped García throughout her career. Her advisors at UCLA, including Rebeca Méndez, Victoria Vesna, and Erkki Huhtamo, and advisor Dr. Rocío Diaz at Tecnológico de Monterrey, shared knowledge and encouraged her to believe in herself. Moreover, they also helped her find unique experiences in her life and career path.

In addition, García has mentored younger artists, instructing classes and workshops. She shared ways to connect people and her career path during these talks and presentations. Further, she has helped revise graduate programs and grant applications.

Advice to Young Professionals: 

García advises young professionals considering careers in the environmental field "to apply [and] show up even when you don't think you are qualified" (2023). She highlights that you won't get what you don't apply. Regardless, applying will let others know about your work.

Sources: 

About. Biomedia. n.d. Retrieved December 2023 from https://www.biomediastudio.com/

Maru García. Maru García. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2023 from https://www.marugarciastudio.com/about

The Team. Prospering Backyards. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2023 from https://www.prosperingbackyards.com/team

The Team. Prospering Backyards [Photo]. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2023 from https://www.prosperingbackyards.com/team

Survey and interviews conducted by Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative staff. 2022-2023. Yale University-School of the Environment. New Haven, Connecticut.

Photo Credit: 

Michelle Gabrieloff-Parish [Photo]. Colorado College. (2018). Retrieved December 2023 from https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/creativity-innovation/about-us/i...  

Last Updated: 
1/2/2024