As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, join us for two workshops dedicated to empowering individuals and diaspora communities through collective art-making and cultural preservation, led by local artist and community partner Veronica Olivares-Weber. Cosponsored by the Princeton Humanities Initiative, Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES), Department of Art & Archaeology, and Princeton Latin American Student Association.
Sept. 25: Celestial Motifs in Metal
12-1:30 PM in Louis A. Simpson Building, Room B60 A+B+C
Open to ages 18+
Veronica Olivares-Weber offers an embossed metal workshop, “Celestial Motifs in Metal: Embossing Indigenous Cosmologies and Material Culture,” drawing from Mexican design motifs. All supplies and lunch provided.
Registration is full for 9/25 event.
October 5: Tin Love Letters
2-4 PM in Drapkin Studio, Lewis Arts complex
Open to ages 8+ with an adult
Veronica Olivares-Weber offers an embossed metal workshop, “Tin Love Letters: Embossing Memory, Emotion & Cultural Symbolism,” drawing from Mexican cultural symbolism. All supplies provided.
Registration is full for 10/5 event.
Directions & Access Information
Get directions to Drapkin Studio, located on 2nd floor, Wallace Dance Building at Lewis Arts complex.
Get directions to Louis A. Simpson building, located on the Princeton University campus.
Accessibility
All Lewis Arts complex venues are accessible. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information at our various locations. Students in need of access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at 609-258-5262 or email LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week in advance of the event date.
About Veronica Olivares-Weber
Artist Veronica Olivares-Weber. Photo by Zohar Lavi-Hasson
Veronica Olivares-Weber, originally from Mexico, is a teaching artist and community organizer whose work spans more than two decades at the intersection of art, education, and social justice. She studied art history and ceramics classes at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she developed a strong foundation in both theory and practice. Deeply connected to her heritage, her practice is rooted in preserving Latin American art traditions, storytelling, and community empowerment through the arts.
Since 2010, Olivares-Weber has been a faculty member at the Arts Council of Princeton, where she teaches visual arts and leads creative programming for the Princeton Young Achievers after-school initiative, serving students from historically underserved neighborhoods. Her teaching emphasizes traditional and contemporary techniques across a wide range of media, including ceramics, sculpture, papier-mâché, mixed media, and painting. Through culturally immersive classes like Spanish Through Art and The Movement of the Muralist, she fosters creative expression while preserving and celebrating Mexican folk art traditions.
Her workshops often focus on traditional forms such as sugar skull-making, embossed tin (hojalata), papier-mâché, and nichos.These hands-on sessions engage learners of all ages and backgrounds in exploring identity, gratitude, and cultural heritage through meaningful artistic practice.
In addition to her teaching, Olivares-Weber has curated and co-organized numerous exhibitions and public events, including over 15 years of Día de los Muertos programming at the Arts Council of Princeton. She is the founder and main organizer of the Festival Cultural Latino, a celebrated annual event that highlights Latino culture and arts in the Princeton community. Her leadership has also shaped community altars, installations, and collaborative public art projects, including the 2021 Dohm Alley installation.
For the past three years, she served as Artist in Residence at Community Park School, where she worked closely with students to integrate arts into their learning experience, emphasizing cultural history and creative expression.
She works closely with Princeton University across departments such as the Lewis Center for the Arts, the Effron Center, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Department of Art & Archaeology, the Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES), and the Pace Center for Civic Engagement. Through these collaborations, she facilitates workshops, student-led art projects, lectures, and events that bridge academic and local communities while deepening understanding of Latin American art and immigrant experiences.
Olivares-Weber served as Chair of the Princeton Human Services Commission until 2024 and has served on the boards of the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF), Housing Initiatives of Princeton, McCarter, Code Equal, and the Arts Council of Princeton. She currently serves on the Civil Rights Commission of Princeton. Her work reflects a sustained commitment to equity, inclusion, and the preservation of cultural traditions through education and the arts.