When Cornelio V. Campos starts a mural, he has a solid idea of what he is going to paint, incorporating symbols from his Indigenous Purépecha heritage and bright colors to accent his shapes. He sketches it out and prepares the materials for painting. Then, he’s ready to invite everyone in.

Campos, a self-taught artist originally from Chéran, Michoacán, Mexico, recreated this collaborative experience at the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. As he and his assistant, Emily Pahuamba, created a bright blue mural filled with cultural symbols, they encouraged visitors to paint with them. Through his work, Campos seeks to reflect his Mexican and Indigenous identity, one he feels is underrepresented. 

“Everybody knows the Aztecs, everybody knows the Olmecs, but I am from a community called Purépecha,” he explained. “They have a little bit of material about them, but not much.”

The Purépecha people are an Indigenous group located in Michoacán, Mexico, in the western region of the country. Campos often highlights figures from nature and spirituality, infused with Purépecha iconography. By including cultural symbols into his work, Campos exposes his community to aspects of his heritage that they may not have previously encountered. He feels this approach not only educates but also fuels curiosity and dialogue among viewers.

Campos began creating murals in Durham, North Carolina, in the 2000s, over a decade after immigrating from Mexico. He was inspired to take a public approach with his art by someone from his hometown of Cherán: a fine arts student who would visit home and teach art to local children every weekend. He decided he wanted to make a similar impact and engage with young artists in his community in Durham.

“That’s the reason it is important to me to keep doing these community murals, because you’re not aware who can be the next big painter,” he said. “You never know when you are painting with the next generation of painters and artists.”

Collaboration is an important aspect in Campos’s work. Even before he puts pen to paper to design his next piece, he gathers insight from residents and businesses around the proposed mural.

“It’s taking into consideration the people who live in the neighborhood,” he said. “That’s how we allow them to start to be a part of that.”

Creating murals comes with its own set of challenges. Besides unpredictable weather and tight deadlines, Campos finds that teaching a diverse public with varying levels of experience can be demanding. However, he values the opportunity to guide people through the artistic process, even if it means navigating a wide range of ages and skill levels.

“It’s not like a regular class when you have kids all the same age and all interested in becoming an artist,” he said. “But lately, I’ve been able to figure out how to manage people who come in to collaborate. I'm able to identify the kinds of people who can make it easy on me and make it easy on the collaborators, so they can feel comfortable too.”

Beyond the theme of collaboration and cultural transmission, Campos’s experience as an immigrant adds another layer to his artistic narrative. Having entered the United States illegally, he eventually became a citizen and began pursuing his passion for painting after working in various jobs, including labor in tobacco fields and construction, eventually becoming a licensed electrician. His immigration journey, marked by challenges and perseverance, deeply influences his art.

“When I started to paint, I painted my own frustration—wondering why I have to be in a different country or cross the border. So all the things that come along with immigrating to the United States, in my paintings, that’s what I express.”

He believes projects like his mural Libertad, located outside of a mental health clinic serving Latino families in North Carolina, help shift perceptions about what immigrants can contribute beyond traditional roles, showcasing the diverse talents within the Latino community. Since the 1990s, North Carolina has had the fastest Latino growth rate in the United States, an increase resulting from the Great Latino Migration, in which Mexican migrant workers came to the South for opportunities in agricultural and service industries.

“Everybody knows that we are able to work in the field, or work in construction, but what about arts, you know?” he asked. “It was something different, and it inspires me a lot to lead in that way for the Latino community here in North Carolina. That is one of my goals.”

Campos believes this personal and cultural context is what has garnered much of the recognition he’s received, including the North Carolina Heritage Award in 2023. The award was a significant honor for Campos, as one of the requirements of the award is to be North Carolinian, a symbol affirming his citizenship and acceptance into the state he calls home. Meanwhile, he has also been recognized with an award from the Consulate of Mexico.

At the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Campos said his favorite aspect of the event was connecting with people from various Indigenous communities from D.C. and around the world. Among those artists was fellow muralist Reyna Hernandez, who also spoke about the role of audience collaboration in her art at the narrative session “Public Art and the Building of Community” alongside Campos and Virginia-based Guatemalan Maya artist Ubaldo Sánchez.

“Our intention with these projects is to consider the things that are missing in the visual landscape and what parts of history are being left out,” she explained.  “It’s not just Native kids who are missing out on a robust history that includes Native history. It’s something we can learn about together.”

Like Hernandez, Campos hopes that people who view his art will take away a desire to explore further. Through his murals, he not only creates artistic, collaborative spaces but also conjures understanding and challenges misconceptions, making a lasting impact on his local community and beyond.

“I think that’s what I want the public to take from my paintings—that curiosity,” he mused.

Bea Barnes is a program intern for the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and a senior studying mass communication at Dillard University.