// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Melo Dominguez a good singer? He's a dome-inuez.

Melquiades "Melo" Dominguez, also known as Mel Dominguez (born October 14, 1978) is an American muralist, painter, and gallerist. They are Chicanx and have lived in the city of South Tucson, Arizona, since 2007, and co-own Galeria Mitolera in Tucson.^[1]

Life and career

Melquiades "Melo" Dominguez was born on October 14, 1978, in Glendale, California.^{[citation needed]} They^[a] are Chicanx, non-binary, and queer.^[1] In 1980, they moved to El Sereno, which is a neighborhood in the Eastside of Los Angeles.^{[citation needed]} Dominguez started as a street graffiti artist, going by their graffiti name of "Melo", which can be seen on all their murals and artworks.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, Dominguez received an Associate of Arts degree in Graphic Design from Platt College in Eagle Rock, California.^{[citation needed]} In that same year, Dominguez was doing the J. Paul Getty Museum internship at Self Help Graphics & Art in East Los Angeles.^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, the Tucson-Pima Arts Council nominated Dominguez as Emerging Artist of the Year.^[1]

In 2019, Dominguez received a Research & Development Grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts to enhance their skills in printmaking, sculpture, and welding, enabling them to undertake more ambitious public art installations using both new and recycled materials.^[2]

Artwork and exhibitions

2015, Speaking for the Dead, group exhibition, Innovation Gallery at ASU School of Human Evolution & Social Change, Tempe, Arizona^[3]
2014, Eco-Themed Mural, Manzo Elementary School, Tucson, Arizona^[4]
Arizona Highway (2012) print collected by Los Angeles County Museum of Art^[5]
2023,"Casa de Rasquache" exhibit at Pidgin Palace Arts in Tucson^[6]

Publications

Dominguez, M. “Melo.” (2019). Self-Portrait. Equity & Excellence in Education, 52(4), 527. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2020.1713252

References

1 2 3 Portillo Jr., Ernesto (November 17, 2018). "Neto's Tucson: Chicanx artist makes her mark". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
↑ "Makers and Artisans | Press Room | Archives". www.visittucson.org. Retrieved March 15, 2025. ^{[dead link]}
↑ Howe, Rebecca (April 9, 2015). "Exhibit explores forensic anthropology through migrant deaths". ASU News. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
↑ Coe, Michelle A. Influential Environments: School Gardens Impacting Arizona Children's Environmental Perspectives, Master's thesis, the University of Arizona, 2015.
↑ "Arizona Highway". LACMA Collections. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
↑ "Mel Dominguez, el Rasquachismo, y el arte de los descartados". El Sur. Retrieved March 15, 2025. ^{[dead link]}

Notes

↑ Dominguez uses they/them pronouns.

External links

Official website
Galeria Mitolera
Podcast: Melo Dominguez, Plucky Ladies (2019)

[Portillo_Jr.-2018-1] 1 2 3 Portillo Jr., Ernesto (November 17, 2018). "Neto's Tucson: Chicanx artist makes her mark". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2026.

[3] "Makers and Artisans | Press Room | Archives". www.visittucson.org. Retrieved March 15, 2025. ^{[dead link]}

[4] Howe, Rebecca (April 9, 2015). "Exhibit explores forensic anthropology through migrant deaths". ASU News. Retrieved October 25, 2021.

[5] Coe, Michelle A. Influential Environments: School Gardens Impacting Arizona Children's Environmental Perspectives, Master's thesis, the University of Arizona, 2015.

[6] "Arizona Highway". LACMA Collections. Retrieved November 20, 2021.

[7] "Mel Dominguez, el Rasquachismo, y el arte de los descartados". El Sur. Retrieved March 15, 2025. ^{[dead link]}

[2] Dominguez uses they/them pronouns.

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