A collection of Peruvian heritage art by Alex Paul Loza, "Sapiykunapaq: My Roots, Mis Raices," will be featured at a free reception on Sunday, Oct. 20, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the North River Civic Center, 1009 Executive Drive in Hixson. Sapiykunapaq means "my roots" in the Quechua language.
Loza will give a talk at 1:30 p.m. followed by a meet-and-greet with visitors before a Peruvian dance performance by the Asociacion Cultural Peruana Aklla Sumaq of Atlanta at 2:30 p.m. Guests will be served hors d'oeuvres by AJI Peruvian Restaurant.
Loza is a community-engaged multidisciplinary artist based in Chattanooga, with a deep appreciation for figurative narrative art. He received his BFA from Chicago's American Academy of Art.
With two decades of experience, he has been commissioned to paint portraits and custom art for private and public art collectors throughout North and South America. He has also led, created and collaborated with national muralists on several public art projects in Chicago and Chattanooga.
Outside of his studio practice, Loza has been an adjunct art professor at Lee University. He has served on committees and boards such as the Latin American advisory committee for Hunter Museum of American Art and Chattanooga-Hamilton County Any Given Child.
Loza was recently selected to sculpt a monument of Thaddeus Stevens after a nationwide search. Stevens has been called "the savior of public education in Pennsylvania" as well as the "Father of the 14th Amendment." The monument will be installed in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in April 2022.
Loza's exhibition will remain on view at North River Civic Center through Dec. 28.
For more information: 423-870-8942.