Yerbamala Art Studio

There are countless car mechanic shops across the United States and Mexico, but none are quite like Yerbamala in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. That’s because amid the functioning repair shop is a secret: a studio for women and nonbinary artists who’ve used the special space to refine their own work. Yerbamala functions as a collective, with 10 permanent members from a range of backgrounds. (Half are mothers who don’t have designated studio space at home.) 

In addition to giving them room to refine their craft, Yerbamala also curates and organizes shows for women and nonbinary artists throughout Mexico. As a nonprofit, it never charges members or resident artists for use of space or for participation in its exhibitions. Our funds will help the organization purchase a ceramic kiln to expand the techniques and mediums available to artists in its space. Yerbamala is a safe haven for creation for women and gender-nonconforming individuals in Mexico, who can face discrimination and danger. But the organization isn’t focused on fear. As Esther Gamez Rubio, a curator with Yerbamala, puts it: “We believe that our existence and our art is resistance in itself.”