Image courtesy of the artist
From January 9-February 18, 2026, New City Arts presents Sueños Florecientes/Flowering Dreams: Portals to Self, an exhibition of work by Karina A. Monroy, with featured works by Andrea Agredano and Carmen Monroy.
In this new body of work, Karina explores concepts of intergenerational matrilineal healing through art-making and the cultivation of dreaming practices. Inspired by Mexico’s ancestral practice of lucid dreaming—referred to as flowering dreams—Karina uses crochet, painting, embroidery, video installation and performance to embody and bring her dreams into the material world.
Karina Monroy is a California born Chicana, mixed media artist and art therapist based in Charlottesville, Virginia. She holds a B.A. in Art and Anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and an MA in Art Therapy from The George Washington University. As an artist and art therapist, Karina is process-driven – embodying art-making as ritual, and ritual as art-making. Her work explores, challenges and embraces themes of healing, femininity and matrilineal legacies within Chicanx culture. Through needlework, painting, sculpture and drawing, Karina creates delicate images and objects as sacred restorative offerings for herself and her feminine ancestors.
Located at 114 3rd St. NE on Charlottesville’s downtown pedestrian mall, New City Arts’ Welcome Gallery supports artists who live in the Charlottesville area. Welcome Gallery exhibitions and programs are made possible by generous sponsors, donors, and grants. Interested in sponsoring an exhibition? Connect with us!