CA Senior Mendez Hernandez is Teen Artist-in-Residence

This July, visitors to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Denver had the chance to peer inside the imaginative world of Colorado Academy Senior Erika Mendez Hernandez, who was selected as one of the museum’s three 2026 Teen Artists-in-Residence.

The CA artist’s immersive mixed-media installation reflected her passion for creative dreaming, film, and science fiction, showcasing an artistic vision that blends imagination with meticulous craftsmanship. Constructed from an array of materials—including clay, paint, beads, gems, and other mixed media—the installation transformed familiar objects into a dreamlike landscape inspired by cinematic storytelling and speculative worlds.

Said Mendez Hernandez of her piece, “I hope people appreciate the work and dream with me.” 

The Teen Artist-in-Residence program at MCA Denver offers emerging young artists the opportunity to develop ambitious original work while collaborating with museum staff and engaging the public through contemporary art.

Teens selected for the two-year-old program get access to a portion of a shared studio space as well as a stipend for material costs. Over the course of 3–4 weeks, they dive into the creative process, with weekly demonstrations, critiques, and conversations with local Denver arts and culture creatives spanning mediums and techniques. To celebrate the conclusion of the residency, each cohort of artists creates a public-facing community exhibition.

According to CA’s Director of Visual & Performing Arts, Katy Wood Hills, “Being selected for the Artist-in-Residence program represents a significant accomplishment and recognizes both artistic talent and creative potential. We’re excited to see how Erika’s exploration of art, community, and advocacy evolves through her Senior Portfolio this year.”

Since arriving at CA in Sixth Grade, Mendez Hernandez has enthusiastically embraced art as both a creative outlet and a means of expression. “I guess I’ve been an artist all my life, but it was when I got to the Middle School that I first realized there was so much more to art than just paper and pencil.”

At the time—squarely in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic—the many possibilities she discovered through art were a lifeline. “I came into CA not really knowing anyone, and since we were all learning online, there really wasn’t much chance to. So that just really drove me to bury myself in my sketchbooks—you just had to make do. And then it became something I knew I wanted to focus on for the rest of Middle School and high school.”

As Mendez Hernandez honed her skills in a multiplicity of media through CA’s Visual Arts program, she was able to reach beyond campus, as well, supported through CA offerings such as REDI Lab in becoming involved in creative communities all across Denver. Jazmin Nieto, REDI Lab Facilitator and Service Learning Coordinator, invited her to participate in Latina Leaders X Design, a growing initiative that connects young Latina women with transformational opportunities.

“It was a chance to think about problems in your community and learn about people’s different perspectives on how to solve them. The focus was on Latinas and how we thrive in the world.”

Mendez Hernandez took up REDI Lab’s entrepreneurial approach in envisioning a workshop that combined art and therapy to encourage community members to express how they felt about concepts such as home and immigration. “For me, the United States was always meant to be this ‘melting pot’ of cultures,” she explains. “So regardless of what happens or the threats we face, you have to stay true to yourself; you have to speak your truth.”

As one of the MCA’s Teen Artists-in-Residence, Mendez Hernandez won valuable time and space to further explore the intersection of politics, activism, and creativity. “I knew I wanted to do something over the summer to expand my horizons and meet other artists.” 

Over the course of the monthlong residency, she worked alongside two other students as well as learned from local practitioners such as Marcos Acosta, an internationally recognized Denver artist whose work explores humanity and the natural world through dramatic landscapes and abstract forms.

From Acosta, recounts Mendez Hernandez, “I really found my abstract side, which for me means mixing together a lot of different ideas and mediums. Combining new materials like spray paint and embroidery with my interest in street art, I didn’t have to stay in one spot or stick to one thing. That’s what I like to do.”

The work she completed over the summer at the MCA melds color, texture, abstraction, and human forms to suggest an alien world populated by otherworldly creatures. “It’s what I see in immigrants today—it’s really near and dear to me, something from my personal experience. The message I wanted to communicate is that not everything is black and white; you can break the rules. Like a lot of my work, I see things in different colors and shapes and sizes. You can keep moving and figure stuff out without having to be just one thing.”

Now, in her Senior year at CA, Mendez Hernandez will have the opportunity to continue developing those ideas as she builds the collection of work that she will display in the spring in the main gallery of the Ponzio Arts Center. She’ll do so, in part, by incorporating yet another passion she’s discovered by exploring Denver’s creative scene: punk music clubs. 

“I really wanted to focus on my beliefs and what I want to say to the whole world, and for me, the punk community is the place to do that: rejecting binary distinctions, the do-it-yourself mentality, making do with what you have—and dancing, not because you’re told to dance, but because we love music and dancing and art. We see art as our lives.”

Punk remains, after all these decades, a political act, says Mendez Hernandez. A guitar player who’s performed both on and off campus, she explains, “I just think it’s so beautiful when we’re all dancing together, your friends, the people you meet at shows, becoming one community.”

After graduation, she plans to stay close to home, possibly attending the University of Denver and continuing her artmaking. 

“I love this city. I love the art scene. I love the punk scene. I love everything about it. And I’m so grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had at CA—getting to embrace all kinds of different materials and styles, not having to stay in one small box.”