Banned Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez show opens in Santa Cruz
The Center for Art and Advocacy, in partnership with the Institute of the Arts and Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz are pleased to present “Ni de aquí, ni de allá (Not From Here, Not From There),” a solo exhibition by multidisciplinary artist Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez. The exhibition is part of the University’s Visualizing Abolition program, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. Highlighting the multidisciplinary nature of Marka27’s practice, the exhibition invites viewers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and where personal memory collides with collective truth and activism.
The Institute of Arts and Sciences will be the second venue to successfully present the exhibition to the public. First organized by Boston University Art Galleries and curated by Kate Fowle in September of 2025, “Ni de aquí, ni de allá” debuted to critical acclaim before gaining national attention after its abrupt removal from its second venue, the University of North Texas, where it had been installed just one week prior to it being censored. The decision, made without clear explanation to the artist, sparked widespread backlash, student protests, and national media coverage, including in The New York Times and Hyperallergic. The Institute of Arts and Sciences provides an opportunity to show the work once more.
Widely used across bilingual and bicultural communities, the phrase ‘ni de aquí, ni de allá’ speaks to the experience of living between worlds and forms the emotional core of the exhibition where it becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through painting, sculpture, installation and sound, Marka27 builds an immersive environment rooted in what he describes as a ‘Neo-Indigenous’ visual language, where street culture intersects with Indigenous tradition. Shaped by his upbringing in East Dallas, as well as his time in Los Angeles and New York, the work reflects a deeply personal yet collective narrative grounded in Mexican and Indigenous heritage.
As deeply as the exhibition confronts the fraught and oftentimes dangerous experience of migration, particularly across the US-Mexico border, “Ni de aquí, ni de allá” is simultaneously a celebratory, richly immersive and multidisciplinary experience. This embodiment of contradictions gestures towards the realities of immigrant experiences: at once marked by surveillance and state violence, and also the care and joy of community. Marka27’s expansive practice repurposes and ultimately transforms culturally familiar objects, such as altars constructed from coolers used by street vendors, references to botanicas and spiritual practices across the Afro-Caribbean and Latin diaspora and visual symbolism drawn from textiles, graffiti and community traditions.
Featured in the exhibition are works from Marka27’s “I.C.E. Scream’ series, in which large, brightly colored resin sculptures in the shape of Mexican paletas, or popsicles, appear to melt. The series, for which Marka27 won the 2025 Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize, was described by the Frieze Impact Presentation curator Taylor Renee Aldridge as exploring “the economies of survival, mutual aid, and dynamics between workers and the built environment present within street vendor culture often practiced in Latinx communities.”
The exhibition offers moments of reverence and reflection, but also humor. Within a recreated botanica, visitors encounter both spiritual tools and tongue-in-cheek remedies, including ‘parking blessings,’ ‘chancleta protection’ and satirical oils addressing gentrification and artistic success. These elements ground the exhibition in lived cultural experience while inviting audiences to engage with both its depth and its levity. As conversations around censorship, immigration and cultural identity continue to unfold nationally, “Ni de aquí, ni de allá” offers a space for reflection, joy, empathy and shared humanity.
About Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez
Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez is a renowned international visual artist who is known for his diverse works that intersect contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design and art activism. His public art street murals are a continuation of his heritage and connection to the Mexican Masters Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Siqueiros, who are referred to as ‘los tres grandes’ (the three great ones).
His work is inspired by the empowerment of marginalized communities and the fight for representation. Marka27’s artistry encompasses paintings, murals, drawings, mix-media pieces and private commissions for major brands. His robust palette combines elements of street and pop culture with Mexican and Indigenous aesthetics, which he has coined as his signature look, ‘Neo Indigenous.’ Marka27’s work has cemented his place in graffiti and street art history, and he has flourished as a product designer, gallery artist, toy designer and more. Internationally recognized for his dynamic visual language, Marka27 has exhibited globally and collaborated with major brands while creating landmark public art in cities across the U.S.
He is a Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize winner (2025) and a Right of Return and Art for Justice Fellow (2023, 2024), using his platform to amplify narratives around immigration, incarceration and identity. Through his art, Marka27 invites viewers into a vibrant space where heritage and urban expression powerfully coexist.
About the Institute of the Arts and Sciences
The Institute of the Arts and Sciences, located in the city of Santa Cruz, is the Central Coast’s premier university art and research center. Through groundbreaking, national-caliber art exhibitions and social justice initiatives, the IAS creatively educates students and the public about urgent issues impacting our society. The IAS galleries are a vital hub for UC Santa Cruz and the region, bringing national and internationally acclaimed artists and projects to enliven the culture of our communities.
About the Center for Art and Advocacy
The Center for Art and Advocacy believes there is an abundance of uncultivated talent and exceptional creativity among individuals who share the lived experience of incarceration. Their work carries unique insights and lessons that are not only urgent but necessary, offering perspectives that can enrich and transform society as a whole.
