Nara Hernandez, as the Senior Creative Director, is the head of the Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) Visual Arts Department (VAD), leads special initiatives related to arts, humanities, and culture, and curates HOLA’s physical spaces to ensure a welcoming, trauma-informed environment that uplifts the creative talents of HOLA students, families, and staff. Nara oversees Visual Arts curriculum development and implementation across all of HOLA’s age groups and sites, directs HOLA’s arts events including Gallery Shows, and builds partnerships with cultural institutions and social service organizations to enhance the Visual Arts Department as well as HOLA as an organization. Nara also serves as the curator of HOLA’s public art initiatives, the Berman Public Art Residency, and various public humanities projects with a current focus on establishing HOLA as a placemaker that connects, celebrates, and supports the vibrant communities we serve.

Nara joined HOLA in 2009 as our Visual Arts Director. Nara feels that art education is a positive catalyst for Los Angeles’ youth and the communities they live in. Sharing her experience and passion for the arts with HOLA and helping to give local youth an opportunity to explore themselves and their place in the world through creative expression motivates Nara’s creative strategies for HOLA’s artistic future. Under Nara’s leadership, the Visual Arts Program has expanded from offering 8 weekly classes at one site to up to 86 weekly classes at 9 different sites.

Nara brings nearly a decade of experience in museum education, curatorial work, and public programs. She’s served in roles at the Autry National Center, Museo del Barrio in NYC, The Museum of Man, the Siquieros Mural Center with the Getty and City of LA, the Smithsonian, and the Museo Nacional de Antropología in her hometown of Mexico City. Nara earned her M.A. in Public Humanities from Brown University, a B.A. in Art History and Visual Culture from UC-Santa Cruz, and studied at the Rhode Island School of Design.