Yancy Villa (B.A., B.F.A., M.B.A.)

Yancy Villa (b. 1976) is an interdisciplinary artist who seeks to create awareness, engage in conversation, and encourage action on issues of social justice, equity, and community prosperity. 

Villa is the 2023 Tennessee Artist Fellow for the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts and a 2020-2022 Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow.  In 2019, she was recognized as one of “40 Change Makers Who Have Made Memphis Better in the Past 40 Years.” Internationally, she was selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, the Ministry of Culture, and the Institute for Mexicans Living Abroad (IME) as one of the USA artists to be part of the First Cohort of Artists to work on binational art initiatives for public diplomacy. She is a recipient of grants and art commissions from the Smithsonian Latino Center, the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, the Tennessee Arts Commission, ArtsMemphis, UnidosUS, the Funders’ Network, the UrbanArt Commission, and the City of Memphis, among others. 

Her work appears in diverse forms ranging from visual art to activism to performing art to urban planning. The creative process starts by questioning current systems and social dynamics. It encourages her to produce asset-based artwork that is aesthetically and emotionally powerful and that emphasizes dialogue, participation, and action. Her art form provides a platform to see that within our complex humanity, there exists common ground and encourages civic engagement for the betterment of our shared space. 

Through the merging of public art, urban planning, and community engagement she created the initiative Go Explore Memphis Soul (GEMS) to help inform the Memphis Comprehensive Growth City Plan. Through GEMS, Yancy applied art as an engagement tool with city residents as part of their neighborhood planning and economic development.

Villa is the creator of Barrier Free, a traveling, interactive art installation that asks viewers to reflect on the human-made and systemic barriers that divide us, from unjust immigration laws to mass incarceration. The installation has been exhibited around the U.S. in Washington, D.C, Houston, TX, Phoenix, AZ, Baltimore, MD, and in various cities in Tennessee including Memphis, Murfreesboro, and Nashville.

Her work is an intertwining web of art and life.  Her life experiences have influenced how she defines, makes, and experiences art. Experiences such as being born and raised in Mexico, living in Mozambique, and traveling to many countries have provided her with a cross-cultural perspective and an awareness of her place as a global citizen. A Mexican-American, Yancy now calls the U.S., her own.

She received her formal art education at Christian Brothers University and Memphis College of Art with a B.A. in Psychology, a B.F.A. in Studio Art, and an M.B.A. She volunteers and serves on boards and committees including Overton Park Conservancy (chair), Memphis Tourism, University of Memphis Institute for Arts and Health, ArtsMemphis, and The Brooks Museum.

She frequently exhibits in solo shows, group shows, and collaborative projects. Her artwork is displayed in private collections in the United States, Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Israel, and the Netherlands.

Art Affiliations

National Latino Arts and Cultures

International Association of Art USA