Minerva Diaz within her 2022 installation at NYCHA’s Jacob Riis Houses.

Minerva’s life has followed a serendipitous path, with seemingly unrelated chapters connecting in unexpected ways. She entered the trades when women were rarely there, first as an industrial painter with DC-9 and later as a refrigeration engineer at ABC. Her journey continued through the automobile industry as a road producer, to the United Nations as a representative and speaker, to serving as executive director of a cultural institution, and community advocacy. Through it all, art was always a constant—documenting history through her work and continuing an extraordinary creative journey through installations, preserving other people’s stories, and now beginning to preserve her own.

Behind the Name
Minerva, in Roman mythology: goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, and crafts. The owl, her sacred symbol, represents wisdom and watchfulness.

DISCOVER

MIND OF MINERVA

Artist · Storyteller · Visual Historian

Minerva Diaz

This is who she is.
This is what she creates.
This is the world she has moved through.
And this is how you can work with her.