Christie Tirado

Christie Tirado is a Mexican American interdisciplinary artist and educator from Yakima, WA, currently residing in Madison, WI. As the daughter of immigrants, she navigates the complexities of her heritage, drawing inspiration from the rich tradition of relief block printing. Her work explores the impact of migration on culture, identity, traditions, memories, and histories, with a particular focus on labor-related migration within Mexican diasporas. Deeply rooted in personal familial histories, her practice reflects the resilience and lived experiences of her own family while also grabando both personal and collective narratives. Through cultural exploration and artistic practice, she sheds light on the layered narratives of migration and cultural (in)visibility.

Tirado earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, and her Master’s in Teaching from Heritage University in Toppenish, WA. She is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Her accolades include the 2020 Larry Sommers Fellowship through Seattle Print Arts and the 2020 Golden Apple Award for innovative teaching in Washington State. She is also an Education Graduate Research Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her artwork has been exhibited and collected nationally in museums and galleries such as Tandem Press in Madison, Wisconsin, Davidson Galleries in Seattle, WA; San Francisco State University, CA; Sonoma State University, CA; The Sun Valley Museum of Art, ID; and La Productora Gráfica del Bosque in Oaxaca, Mexico, among others. Additionally, her work has been featured in prominent news outlets and magazines nationwide, including High Country News, ProPublica, and Wisconsin Public Radio.

Previously, Tirado worked as an elementary and middle school art teacher in the Yakima Valley, WA, for eight years. She is currently a project assistant at Tandem Press.

Exhibitions & Projects

Grabando Historias, Solo Exhibition, 2025.

Apex Gallery, Tandem Press, Madison, WI, 2025.

Rethinking Process, Group Exhibition, 2024.

Art Lofts Gallery. Madison, WI Cultivando Historias, 2024.

Solo Exhibition, Memorial Union Main Gallery. Madison, WI, Celebrating BAC Artists,2024.

Group Exhibition. Bainbridge Arts and Crafts. Bainbridge, WA, 2024

Spring, 2024. Public art installation for Washington State University – Spokane, for new Medical Science Building. [This has been a project that I have been working on for three years with the state of Washington.]

Teaching

Project assistant at Tandem Press, 2024-2025.

Teaching Intro and Advance Relief: Art 306/506, summer 2025.

Printmaking Workshop leader, Madison College.

Service & Committees

Wisconsin Latinx History Collective committee

Led a Monotype screenprinting workshop at the National College for Book Arts Association CBAA, University of Wisconsin Madison, Spring 2025.

Keynote speaker for Latinx in STEAM at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery.

Artist talk/presentation on my research at the Centro Hispano for an Arts Conference for LOUD (Latino’s organizing for Understanding.)

Awards

Gabriele S. Haberland Graduate Student Printmaking Award for Travel to Europe.

David Rayfield Scholarship to attend Penland School of Craft, summer 2025.