Biography

Marlené Nancy Lopez (she/her/hers), born and raised in MacArthur Park Los Angeles, is the daughter of two Guatemalan migrants. She was chosen to be your 2023 inaugural cityLAB Activist-in-Residence (AIR) because of the work she does and loves: Community Arts Engagement in system-impacted communities.

While on campus Marlené and her AIR team (which went across departments, people, and even cities) took on the courageous endeavor of building a community driven, two-sided Grieving Sun Mural installation for her hometown MacArthur Park. The installation which required story circles, surveys, building, painting, programming services, etc. was truly a testament to creative people power, people driven Public Art, and Community Healing Art Services. Upon reflection, she also learned that communities like art can be imagined and formed, their parameters and duration fluid, and most importantly that no matter how different the people are, art projects can be the catalyst for their creation. It was a deeply impactful residency for her, and she is still living in the ripple effect of the experience.

As a youth, Marlené learned the value of service and now as an adult, she is finding ways to make that service self-sustainable (and non-soul killing). The arts are guiding her there, allowing her to fight, thrive, and heal all at the same time. Now, Marlené’s mission as an artist working all across LA county and her hometown of MacArthur Park is to spread healing across the city she loves by providing unique art experiences (like painting collaborative murals!), story-art circles, and skill shares. She wants to awaken our collective imagination through large public art projects, beginning with murals and one day 3-D interactive installations that can be blended into larger creative placemaking efforts in Urban Planning projects and Public Policy. When not working Marlené is cycling, hammocking, hiking, marathon watching, seeing friends, eating good food, singing to herself, healing, and looking for art everywhere she goes.