2022 MEMENTO JURORS
Sinmin Pak
Sinmin Pak was born in South Korea and immigrated to the US at the age of 10. Although her major was International Relations (not art), her avid curiosity and wide interests led her to study, explore, and experiment with various art mediums. She founded “Unforgotten Butterflies” to educate and raise awareness about “Comfort Women,” who were victims of human trafficking and forced to become sex slaves during WWII by the Japanese Imperial Military. Sinmin makes handmade items like pins and necklaces (made with Hanji, Korean traditional paper), hand painted t-shirts, hand painted bags, and hand made bags to share and gift to people at awareness raising events. Currently, she makes and shares butterfly bracelets made with DoRe MaeDeup, (Korean traditional knot) with a “beginning and end” meaning with people she encounters locally and globally, while traveling, and at local and international events. She hopes the person wearing a butterfly bracelet will remember and adopt a spirit of a voiceless and faceless “Comfort Women” and become their voices and faces in solidarity. Korean traditional lucky charms, GaeBulNoriGaes, are also handmade and given to people. The charm is meant to give protection from three disasters related to wind, fire, and water. She continues and hopes to eventually make 200,000 GaBulNoriGaes that are uniquely different representing an individual spirit of a “Comfort Women” who were robbed of their dignity and human rights.
She loves to create arts, crafts, and anything with a purpose of message, education, and bringing people together. She likes to learn and share her Korean heritage, culture, and history. She is certified as a metal clay instructor from both South Korea and the US. She taught MinHwa at the Coppell Arts Center and at the Dallas Korean Cultural Center. She likes to incorporate Korean arts and crafts such as KeumBoo (gold plating), MaeDeup (Korean traditional knots), CheonYeonYeomSaek (natural dye), and MinHwa (Korean traditional folk painting) to her creative works.
Like the Butterfly Effect, Sinmin hopes her small continued efforts and actions started in North Texas and beyond will help raise awareness and increase the interest of “Comfort Women” globally to help turn tides and make a difference in helping all “Comfort Women” obtain their justice and regain their dignity.
Daniel Juarez
Daniel Juarez is originally from El Paso, Texas. He received his degree in Visual Communication from the Art Institute of Dallas and then took additional courses in fine arts from El Paso Community College. He was quickly employed as a graphic designer and worked in various aspects of advertising in Dallas for 20 years. By day, he was a sarcastic and efficient Ad Man, but by night Daniel explored his personal artistry in order to prevent certain death from monotony and client feedback. He developed a distinct style of highly textured, monochromatic portrait paintings. Daniel's playful and social personality enabled him to capture candid and authentic moments with his subjects.
After living in DFW for over 25 years, Daniel and his family escaped to Wichita Falls where Daniel now spends the majority of his time engaged in the local art community. He works as a teaching artist, collaborating on projects with various organizations including the Wichita Falls Museum at MSU, WFISD, the Alliance for Arts and Culture, 9th Street Studios and many others. He also serves on the board of Wichita Falls Art Association and Wichita Falls Public Library.
Stacy Tompkins
Stacy Tompkins is an artist, writer, fashion designer and model using the creative process as a means of living with intention. Her work focuses on material accessibility, including found and discarded elements, as a means to explore ritual and cultural identity. Tompkins collects remnants of daily life and converts them into performative objects and garments. Tompkins work has been exhibited nationally and abroad: including China, the U.K. and France. The artist has been featured in publications such as Smokelong Quarterly (U.S.A.), Descant (U.S.A.), and Collection 28 (France). She is a recipient of the Liquitex Grant (2003) for her mural "Revolutionaries." Tompkins received her B.F.A. from Midwestern State University in Wichita
Falls, TX. Tompkins lives and creates in Floral City, Florida.
Jackie Davis
(aka Juba)
Juba is a self-taught artist and graphic designer from Dallas, Texas. After graduating high school, he became interested in pursuing a career in graphic design and took courses in art and graphics communication. Juba began using both skills to create and draw abstract portraits and figures. His art techniques and subjects quickly changed after taking a child development course, which influenced him to take a closer look at cognitive development in children and his childhood trauma in the foster care system.
Juba received a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Social Work and now works with children in foster care who have experienced some of the same traumas as him. “Advocacy can be transferable in everything you do, even in visual arts.” It is Juba’s goal to be a voice in visual art while exploring these subjects in hopes to create individual and community awareness. Juba has participated in numerous exhibitions across Dallas including Deep Ellum Arts Festival and the Dallas RAW Showcase. Juba was awarded 2nd place in the 2021 MEMENTO juried exhibition and was a solo exhibitionist at 9th Street Studios in 2022.