By Jacobo Strimling
This illustration supports the Here to Stay project with a direct and powerful statement: “This is my home,” Mi Casa CLT.
In this piece, I depict the city of Charlotte through its distinctive skyline—as has been done countless times before—but I’ve reinterpreted some of Uptown’s most iconic buildings using colors and shapes that evoke Latin culture. For the roof of the house, I incorporated visual elements from the VoZes logo.
Part of our goal is also to highlight the cultural richness that the Queen City has to offer. That is why we have included iconic venues such as the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, the Mint Museum Uptown, and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art—which together form the Levine Center for the Arts—along with St. Peter Catholic Church, Charlotte’s oldest Catholic church, and the Belk Theater, the main venue of the Blumenthal Arts Center.
Just like in the Charloteanos project, this image celebrates the work, presence, and influence of the Hispanic community. I hope that, in addition to bringing color to homes and workspaces, it will become a statement of identity and belonging: “I’m here to stay, because this is [also] my home.”
Jacobo Strimling is a prolific graphic designer, visual artist, and journalist who has been based in Charlotte since 2003. He has dedicated his talent to creating visual experiences that connect art, community, and purpose. His work reflects a deep belief in the power of art as a tool to inspire, communicate, and build a better world.
His project “Charloteanos,” which consists of an initial series of 11 illustrations of prominent members of the Latino community, is currently on display at the South Boulevard Library.