Fabian Debora believes art can be a lonely practice but can save you from a life of disrepair and gang violence. Debora, a muralist and co-founder of the Homeboy Art Academy in East Los Angeles, points to himself as an example of that belief. A former gang member who spent several years incarcerated, Debora was recently honored by the National Endowment for the Arts as a 2024 NEA National Heritage Fellow .
He was presented the award Wednesday during a ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., along with other recipients recognized for their contribution to folk and traditional arts.
Debora, 48, was recognized for his work as a teacher and mentor to others seeking to find purpose through art. At the Homeboy Art Academy, which is connected to Homeboy Industries , Debora and other mentors provide guidance to the youth who are either actively involved in the gang life, recently released from incarceration or are seeking a refuge from the gang life. Art, Debora believes, can also take you to beautiful places.
His art subjects include the people he sees in the working-class neighborhoods where he grew up and still calls home. In March, Debora’s Renaissance-inspired series titled “Cara de Vago” showcased his paintings modeled after Italian master Caravaggio. In Debora’s work, he painted a young girl from Lincoln Heights standing in as the Madonna.
Angels descended on young cholos under the orange glow of a Los Angeles streetlight. In another painting, a masked.