1. The term refers to the ways in which an artist goes about his/her work. Artistic practice goes beyond the physical activities of making artistic products and can include influences, ideas, materials as well as tools and skills.

My name is Munta Eric Mpwo, originally from Democartic Republic of the Congo. My family and I moved to the United States in 1989 at the age of nine. I had no understanding of art or about how art is made at that time. My first introduction to art was cartoons on the television. Cartoons such as The Adventures of TinTin and Looney Toons really caught my attention. This heavily influenced my artistic vision and aesthetic. Cartoons have also altered the way I view the World due to the fact that I never saw a character that looked like me. Break dancing and hip-hop also had a huge impact in my life because I felt like a lost angry kid without a physical outlet. Hip- Hop and Breakdancing were my first introduction to Black Culture in America. My focus now as a 38 year old man is to represent myself and others of the BIPOC community with my murals, illustrations, and dance. Seeing how we are rarely seen on the screen or on paper inspired me to make the unnoticed and unseen seen. My work stands as a beacon of representation for other young kids and adults to find heros that are not just deemed as visually appealing but physical representations of BIPOC heros and their stories. Using acrylics, latex and aerosol I will continue to bring the imagery I would have wanted to see as a child.

I am Munta Eric Mpwo, born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1989, when I was nine years old I immigrated to the United States. My first introduction to art was cartoons on television. Cartoons heavily influenced my artistic aesthetic. However, I never saw characters that looked like me.The Adventures of TinTin and The Looney Toons really caught my attention.

My first introduction to the American Black Culture was Hip-Hop especially break dance. It helped me find my deep connection with my own identity as a Black youth. I combined my two passions of Hip-Hop and cartoons to find a unique style of my own. Using readily available materials such as acrylics, ink, latex, markers, and aerosol I created characters that represent the BIPOC community and me. Now as a 38 year old man I continue to use those skills I crafted as a young Black child feeling under-represented in a white-centric media. I aim to have my work be a beacon of representation for other members of the BIPOC community. So they can find their own reflections in the stories and heroes I create in my art.