Kenia Okiyama

Maquila-utopia

Kenia's project is the continuing creation of an AI comic that explores solarpunk themes,
ecofeminism, maquiladora towns, and utopia. This past summer, Kenia generated a first draft of her
AI comic called “Maquila-utopia.” The objective of her project is to create a second volume. In the 
first volume, Kenia presented topics of fair wages, sustainable practices, green energy, community, 
and herbal healing alongside a nightmarish matrix vision of being plugged into machines in car factories, 
inspired by Sleep Dealer. In the second volume, Kenia wants to expand on these themes and include 
more about language use and ideologies.

Through this project, Kenia will be able to share a concrete media project with
the community, both local and academic, to showcase an alternative future using AI and
sustainable environmental practices. Kenia wants to be able to show others what our world can look
like and instead of border towns being places of real life dystopia sci-fi, seeing how border-
towns and the greater borderlands can become solarpunk towns. Kenia hopes that this project will lead 
her to connect with likeminded artists and activists to make this vision a reality somehow here in
Tucson and around the world. 

Kenia wants to explore and invest in the community, local artists, and researching sustainable use of 
AI. She plans to host a community workshop where artists can come and collaborate on similar projects. 
Also, Kenia plans to enroll in a workshop course to learn more about solarpunk practices.