I am an artist living at the intersection of art, life, and community, creating space for reflection, connection, and transformation.

“While the following reflects my professional journey, at my core, I am simply a woman, mother, wife, daughter, sister, and friend; a human being moving through this earthly experience with curiosity and joy, hoping to contribute, in my own small way, to a more connected and compassionate world.

Thank you for sharing this space with me.”

Yancy

Through socially engaged art, storytelling, and collaborative practice.

ABOUT

Yancy Villa, BFA, BA, MBA, YTT200 is a Mexican-born interdisciplinary and socially engaged artist whose work explores connection, healing, social justice, and collective well-being. Through art, storytelling, and community-centered practices, she creates experiences that foster awareness, cross-cultural understanding, and shared prosperity.

Raised between Mexico City, Mozambique, and the United States, Yancy brings a global perspective to her work. Now based in Memphis, where she has lived for over three decades, her practice is grounded in long-term community engagement while maintaining a deep commitment to international learning and cross-cultural exchange.

PRACTICE

Yancy’s work spans public art, civic design, social practice, performance, and urban planning, positioning art as a catalyst for dialogue, participation, and systemic reflection. Rooted in inquiry, her practice examines social dynamics and power structures, resulting in asset-based projects that are both aesthetically and emotionally resonant.

Through participatory approaches, she creates platforms for civic engagement that invite audiences to recognize shared humanity within complexity and difference.

PROJECTS & INITIATIVES

Through the intersection of public art, urban planning, and community engagement, Yancy founded Go Engage Memphis Soul (GEMS), an initiative that contributed to the Memphis Comprehensive Growth City Plan by using art as a tool to engage residents in neighborhood planning, storytelling, and economic development.

She is also the creator of Barrier Free, a traveling, interactive installation that invites reflection on human-made and systemic barriers, from immigration to mass incarceration. The work has been exhibited nationally, including in Washington, D.C., Houston, Phoenix, Baltimore, and across Tennessee.

INTEGRATIVE WORK

Yancy is the founder of SOMAUH - Integrative Arts & Wellness, an integrative practice that extends her commitment to the relationship between individual and collective well-being. Through SOMAUH, she weaves together visual art, sound meditation, and Ayurveda-informed principles to support resilience, nervous system regulation, and creative expression.

HONORS & RECOGNITION

Her team presented work at the 2025 Venice Biennale, and she was a finalist for the 2024 ULI Tommy Pacello Award for community engagement. Yancy is a 2023 Tennessee Artist Fellow for the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts and a 2020–2022 Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow. Internationally, she was selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, the Ministry of Culture, and the Institute for Mexicans Living Abroad (IME) as part of the inaugural cohort of U.S.-based artists advancing binational public diplomacy initiatives. In 2019, she was recognized by Leadership Memphis as one of the “40 Change Makers Who Have Made Memphis Better in the Past 40 Years.”

CREDENTIALS

She holds a B.A. in Psychology, a B.F.A. in Studio Art, and an M.B.A. from Christian Brothers University and Memphis College of Art. Her work has received support from the Smithsonian Latino Center, the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, the Tennessee Arts Commission, ArtsMemphis, UnidosUS, the Funders’ Network, the UrbanArt Commission, and the City of Memphis.

Her formal training in integrative wellness includes an Ayurveda Principles Certificate and Ayurvedic Treatments Training at Heal Ayurveda Center in Rishikesh, India; Vedic Vibroacoustic Therapy training in Pokhara, Nepal; Sound Healing Teacher Training at Haritha Healing Academy in Rishikesh, India; and a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at Vinyasa Yogashala in Rishikesh, India.

LEADERSHIP & AFFILIATIONS

Yancy serves on the boards of Memphis Tourism, the University of Memphis Institute for Arts and Health Advisory Board, and Facing History & Ourselves Advisory Board. She is a member of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures and the International Association of Art USA.

COLLECTIONS & EXHIBITIONS

Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions and is held in private collections in the United States, Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Israel, the Netherlands, and Italy.