Art Junkez put Chicano custom culture on canvas with a colorful salute to family roots

The Art Junkez — a venture crafted by a Westside-raised brother and sister and their spouses — set out to create “something out of nothing” in celebration of their Mexican-American heritage, Selena Moran and Jaime Calderon shared.

Art Junkez: Ashley and Jaime Calderon, and Selena and Anthony Moran

Growing up, it wasn’t easy to find gifts that reflected their culture — like something for their grandma that truly said abuela — providing inspiration for their work now, the siblings said.

“That’s kind of the base of our business,” Calderon said. “We cater to everyone, but we focus on the Mexican-American heritage that we grew up on because nowadays people are liking that more and more now. It’s a big, big deal. I know it is out in California and Texas. We’re just trying to bring it here to KC.”

The creativity and the motto of the duo also comes from growing up as two of 13 kids and not having a lot of money to spend on gifts, Moran explained. 

“Our creative side is just being proud of where we’re from, who we are in, our city, and just representing our family,” she continued. “We kind of just worked on what we had around the house. We always made homemade gifts. So we just had to be creative.”

Chula earrings from Art Junkez

Now Moran and Calderon offer — what they call “Chicano custom culture” — art and gifts, such as T-shirts, paintings, earrings, stickers, and home decor. They sell on Etsy, at local craft fairs and events, and at Cafe Corazon in Westport. This year, they plan on setting up Art Junkez at the Latino Arts Foundation community popups in the West Bottoms, which is planned for the last Fridays of each month, starting in May. And they hope to be featured at the Irish Fest again this year, plus attending other events around the city.

Click here for more about the Art Junkez.

Custom business card holders by Art Junkez

The siblings do most of the creative work — Jaime specializes in the graphic designs and Selena in the custom vinyl creations — and their spouses (Anthony Moran and Ashley Calderon) handle the business side, along with social media and booking events, Jaime Calderon said; although Anthony and Ashley often help with the ideas for their art, too.

“Sometimes we have brain farts and we have this creative block sometimes and those two keep us going,” he added. “So it’s nice to have another perspective of what might sell, what might not sell, what may look good, what might not look good.”

Art Junkez came together in 2018. Selena Moran said it was Anthony who encouraged her and Jaime to put their work out there and even got them a booth.

“Our family is right behind us,” she continued. “We put all our stuff out there and people liked it. They enjoyed it. So we’re like, ‘Let’s go ahead and take this on,’ and that’s how Art Junkez came to be. It’s just more or less just us liking to craft and liking to draw and just being artistic and creative.”

Their childhood in the Westside is a constant inspiration for their designs, Selena Moran shared.

“I remember having lowrider shows down at Kemper Arena, having fiestas that were right in our backyard and that’s what inspired us to keep making sure that we kept our culture and our roots there,” she explained. “A lot of our work is just representing who we are and bringing back those memories. It has a special place in our hearts because that’s where we all started.”

Mujer poderosa shirt by Art Junkez

In 2023, they said they plan to really lean into that nostalgia with new designs — like using images from the game La Loteria — while also trying out new mediums and materials.

For example, a “Roots” sticker pack is planned, depicting some of the old establishments in their neighborhood like the Tenderloin Grill.

“Just hitting some of the nostalgia with a lot of the things that we grew up around,” he added.

The Art Junkez also offer custom work. Jaime Calderon said they’ve designed items like wood business card holders and logos.

“I enjoy the creative freedom that the clients give us and that I’m able to do within this little company that we have going,” he shared.