Meet Isaac Jimenez | Teaching Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Isaac Jimenez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Isaac, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The idea for the company sprung from a want of myself and the people around me wanting to tell stories by and for the communities we come from. But doing so in a non-biased or watered down way. So much of the latino stories that are shared are funneled in such a way that they are palatable or as a means to reach a broad audience, about a plight of a people, of our people; and while that rings true, it makes it so that our stories and its characters are not multidimensional people. I want to see my world, my aunts’s, uncle’s, my cousins and myself represented on the screen for what we are. People.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I aim to tell stories that feature POC artists in ways that moves us forward as artists and people. I’m most proud of having projects where our entire creative team is comprised of POC artists. So much of what I’ve always aspired to be was just, a creative that can create impact and although I enjoy where I am artistically and the projects I get to work on with so many talented artists, there’s still have a lot of work to do.

When I was a kid I had a lot of fear and confusion about where I’d end up; seeing where some of my elder friends ended up and looking at the pipeline for latino boys in my neighborhood. I have so much love for where I come from, but I have so many mixed emotions about the system that we’re stuck in. While I was looking for ways to distract myself and what all of us were going through, art gave me a place to confront it directly, to look at the root of the issue. What art did for me is what I’d like to do for others.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m currently based in Long Beach and when my friends came from out of state there were some great antique, vintage, thrift & book stores we needed to pass through from Retro Row to north Long Beach but my personal favorite spots would be The Antique Mall and it’s neighbor ‘Planet Books’. We’d hit up ‘Plantitas’ down in retro row and I couldn’t let them leave without them trying what I believe might be the greatest restaurant in California, ‘Charm Siam’.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I could write a book with the names of all of the mentors, friends and family that have guided me. To start with my partner in crime Shofar Levi who is my primary source of support and is an excellent artist that I lean on in all of my endeavors. As well as my dear friends and frequent collaborators Larry Marroquin, Inez Franco, Tyler Coon, Michael Omoyele & the entire team at Teatro Liberado. My family helped shape me and always come through when I need them from my parents to my siblings, cousins, uncles & aunts; it takes a village to create things from scratch and I lean on all the help I can get.

Instagram: @_nathisaac

Image Credits
Jonas Jimenez and Tyler Coon.