Claudia Valentino

Claudia is a full-time muralist, mother, friend and community advocate who specializes in community driven art and a founder of COPLA LLC, Claudia Valentino is a natural organizer of projects, spaces, and people that thrives on fostering inclusive, multicultural, and positive team environments. Running a community arts studio dedicated to helping Latinx and other artists thrive in Minnesota’s artistic economy. The daughter of parents who were exiled by dictatorships in South America, she was born in Mexico, grew up in Argentina and Chile, and has been living in the United States for over a decade.

Skilled communicator in Spanish and English who is adept at teaching skills development to colleagues, projects participants, volunteers and curious folks of all ages. From her initial educational formation in Documentary Photography, Claudia has crafted a way to open up the space for questions surrounding identity, belonging, and social justice are the defining themes of her life and artistic practice. Her first community driven works with Semilla Center (mosaic) at Stone’s Throw Urban Farm

With her 10 years of experience making murals in the community brings various innovative practices from the professionals directly into our communities. With her multifaceted formation and her fast pace, hands on professional years of practice she combines a package of skills that can range from; project management, solo artist work, small to large scale projects and community leadership.

She has been awarded several grants for mid-career artists, including from Forecast Public Art and the Walker Arts Center. In 2019 she was invited to participate in the ChromaZone Mural Festival in Saint Paul, MN. She was also selected to develop a 4,000 square foot mural for Power of Vision: Mural on the Ave, in partnership with the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Hope Community, and Project for Pride and Living

In her own words “El arte es la herramienta en que el pueblo, el barrio, la esquina expresan colectivamente sus emociones” Art is the tool which the people, the neighborhood or block can collectively express their emotions”