Arnie Campa

I’m a weaver and community worker from Los Angeles, currently located in Chicago. My weaving raises questions about archival creation, queer temporalities, and communal joy. My artistic practice has been supported by the California Arts Council, Logan Center for the Arts, and Self Help Graphics. Alongside my practice, I have been committed to sharing my skills as a teaching artist for the past eight years. I’ve been fortunate to serve as an educator in both nonprofit and museum spaces like Summer Arts Conservatory, the Smart Museum of Art, and Palenque LSNA.

I received my BA in Art History from the University of Chicago. My art historical interests include queer and indigenous craft practices as well as notions of community and mutuality in artmaking. I have three essays on the textile practices of Magdelena Abakanowicz, Linda Montano, and Sheila Hicks in Monochrome Multitudes: Art of One Color from Albers to Zeisler, forthcoming from University of Chicago Press.

My latest project applies queer archival theory to probe the archive of the Little Loomhouse, a system of cabins in Louisville, Kentucky that was established as a weaving studio, gallery space, and meeting place for weavers in 1939. I recently curated an exhibition, WEFT, which presented work by 20th century weavers from The Little Loomhouse.