Artist known for Lakeland murals a featured guest at Latino-themed gathering for creators

Gabriela Jaxon says she might have absorbed her new culture a little too thoroughly after immigrating from her native Peru to Lakeland at age 8.

“I never had much to do with my background or heritage,” she said. “I assimilated really too well, almost. I don't even have an accent when I speak, and I caught on to grade level and above grade level really quickly. And I kind of lost the sense of, maybe, my background.”

Jaxon is rediscovering her heritage as she connects with other creative people rooted in Latino ancestry. Jaxon, well known for her large-scale murals in Lakeland and elsewhere, traveled to Los Angeles on Tuesday to participate in a Latino-themed conference hosted by Meta, the corporate owner of Facebook and Instagram.

Jaxon was invited to join a discussion as part of Meta’s Dale Tú and Sephora La Cultura of Beauty Summit at the company’s L.A. headquarters.

“Dale Tú” translates as “your turn” or “give it a go.” Instagram created the program to celebrate Latinx and Hispanic creators and media organizations and help them to build sustainable businesses “by fostering a safe and inclusive community where they can thrive,” according to Meta’s website.

Jaxon was one of three creatives scheduled to speak in Wednesday’s panel discussion, along with Hunter Reese Pena, an actor, singer and writer best known for playing Ricky Vela in the Netflix series “Selena,” and Nadia Tamez, founder and creative director of Synergy Studio IO.

“So that's basically what the program is doing — it’s just creating a network or community of artists, creators, a community of like-minded or similar backgrounds, and just pushing them forward, helping them continue their careers as creators and creating a platform where we are highlighted and celebrated.”

After immigrating to the United States, Jaxon attended Southwest Middle School and Harrison School for the Arts, graduating in 2012. She then earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Florida Southern College in Lakeland.

Jaxon became interested in painting murals, and she recalled approaching prominent people in Lakeland to seek opportunities.

“Literally everybody I spoke to said that my dreams were too big and Lakeland had a long time before that would happen, so that I would be better off going to a bigger city to do that because that wasn't in Lakeland's plans at all yet,” she said.

Jaxon ventured to New York City and became an assistant to a muralist. She had the opportunity to create her own large-scale works, including a mural at the Cinematic Music Group offices in Brooklyn.

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While Jaxon was in New York, Lakeland officials developed a program to commission murals in the city. In 2018, Valerie Ferrell, then the downtown project manager for Lakeland’s Community Redevelopment Agency, called to ask why she had not applied for a grant.

“So I applied late and was the first one to get picked and finished the mural in downtown, and that's what really kickstarted everything,” Jaxon said. “That’s what really got everything going. Right after that. I went to Miami, kept painting, and it just hasn't really stopped since then.”

Her signature work in Lakeland is a mural on the south wall of the Thom Downs Antiques building at 235 N. Florida Ave. The 34-foot-tall painting depicts a young woman with two sets of green eyes, staring forward, all but her face and chin obscured by abstract patterns of yellow, red and purple.

Jaxon has also contributed a smaller mural at Tigertown, the baseball facility in Lakeland, and painted walls in the gym at the Simpson Park Community Center, in the clubhouse of the Mirrorton apartments and at Spence Park in Mulberry. Her portfolio includes a lounge in Miami and the office of Pace Center for Girls in Broward County.

Jaxon now lives in St. Petersburg and runs a creative agency, Chromasthetic, that produces branding and logos. While best known for her murals, Jaxon is also adept at small-scale paintings and sculptures.

Having minored in public relations in college, Jaxon actively promotes her work on social media, including Instagram. That presence apparently gained the attention of someone from Meta, earning Jaxon an invitation to the Dale Tú program in 2022. She previously participated in events at Art Basel in Miami Beach and at the Meta headquarters in Los Angeles.

“There's been a lot of opportunities that have come from just being in this community, and a lot of friendships that I've developed,” she said.

Most of the creative types in the Dale Tu program are performers, Jaxon said. In another distinction, she said the majority are first-generation Americans, not immigrants, while she was born in Peru.

“I think that this is amazing to just be in a community of other creators that are just doing insane things, amazing, big things with their lives,” Jaxon said.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Painter of Lakeland murals invited to gathering of Latino creators