Daniel Esquivia Zapata

Daniel Esquivia Zapata is Assistant Professor in the Department of Art & Art History at Auburn University's College of Liberal Arts. He received his MFA from the New York Academy of Art and BA from Benedict College. His interdisciplinary research explores historiography and narrative through figurative drawing, examining how memory constructs identity and historical understanding. His practice investigates metaphors of memory as living ecosystems rather than static archives.

Research interests focus on the intersection of art, historical trauma, and memory politics, particularly concerning Afro-Latin experiences in the Americas. His 'text hummingbird' series transforms news reports of violence into symbolic forms representing resilience and the transformative potential of memory.

Zapata has received the Vermont Studio Center Fellowship (2020) and Santa Fe Art Institute Residency (2023). His public murals addressing historical memory, such as the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional mural commemorating victims of violence, demonstrate the civic engagement dimension of his practice.