Bio
Jovita Mercado, a Chicana, living on the hyphen of the word Mexican-American, asks why are women of her ethnicity subjected to brutality and ill-treatment and why is there a lack of history surrounding her identity. These questions drive her practice and uncover a history of the United States exploiting her ethnicity while revealing how colonization has manifested into her ethnicity’s oppressive gender expectations. She’s making work in response to the prolific amount of violence and abuse that has been occurring at the U.S./Mexico border and border-related lands like her hometown of Yakima, Washington. Her work is attempting to humanize her identity away from political jargon that leaves her community vulnerable to recurring violence. Through her act of making, she also memorializes her culture’s accomplishments and resiliency, hoping that it distills pride in her community and inspires others.
Jovita Mercado was born in ‘98 to a Chicana mother and a Mexican Father. While growing up in Yakima, her mother was a warehouse worker and her father was a field worker. They struggled financially as many other families do in Yakima. After her parents divorced, Jovita spent most of her adolescence watching over her younger siblings as her mother worked to support the family. She dreamt of leaving her small town and living a life of her own. She utilized her academics and art as a form of escapism. This led her to participate in the Running Start program. She graduated High school with an Associate degree. She then studied at the University of Washington from 2017-2020. During her time at the University, she was the President of the Art Diversity Council, the Artistic Director for the Gender Womxn's Sexuality course: Latina Cultural Productions, and a Co-Organizer of the Womxn Who Rock 2020 conference. She graduated with an Honors Degree in Fine Art and a double minor in Gender Womxn Sexuality Studies and Diversity. After she graduated, she produced UW’s Gender Women Sexuality Studies’s 50th Anniversary Video, designed a limited edition Orca Card for King County Metro, and has three years of experience working in non-profits mentoring youth.