Blanka Amezkua – Artist in Residence

March 22, 2026

February 24th – March 21st, 2026

We were thrilled, honored, delighted, and excited to welcome Blanka Amezkua as our first Artist in Residence at Puffin Brooklyn! Blanka Amezkua is a Mexican born-American multidisciplinary artist, cultural‌ ‌promoter & educator ‌based in Mott Haven, ‌South‌ ‌Bronx. Formally trained as a painter, her practice‌ ‌is‌ ‌greatly‌ ‌influenced‌ ‌and‌ ‌informed‌ ‌by traditional art practices,‌ ‌folk‌ ‌art‌ ‌and‌ ‌popular‌ ‌culture.

While in residence, Blanka furthered her work around the Codex de la Cruz-Badiano, thought to be the first book of medicine created in the Americas. “The Codex is not only a historical document but a repository of Indigenous epistemologies—systems of knowledge that have long been marginalized or extracted from their cultural origins. By retracing these plants, I…honor the original knowledge holders and illustrators while resisting the erasure of their intellectual and cultural contributions. Each repeated gesture becomes an act of remembrance, reinforcing the plants as carriers of healing, memory, and meaning.”

Blanka was in our space, creating work and welcoming visitors, full time for a month, during which time many visitors learned from her and tried their hand at some of her media, including the embroidery she has been co-creating with her mother. The closing exhibition featured many new pieces as well as works in progress.
We also had a special event on March 8th, when Blanka was joined in conversation by fellow artist and immigration activist Marco Saavedra. A recording of that discussion can be found here or in the gallery below.