Design, Fabrication & Refurbishment of Classic Volkswagens

“Lowrider cars are quintessential art objects…they are cars to be driven slowly, to be seen in all their detail. They are the ultimate aesthetic statement in Car Culture.” Rubén Ortiz Torres – Cathedral on Wheels – Art Issues no54

Join us in exploring lowrider car culture through the lens of the Volkswagen Beetle, an iconic ‘car of the people’. Lowriders organize in car clubs and go cruising on the weekends, updating the old Mexican practice of walking around the town plaza on Sundays in order to socialize and be seen. We will have various models on display and in multiple states of completion highlighting the process and transformation of a car into a lowrider. We will be discussing the art of refurbishment, and the design that inherently occurs in this painstaking process.

Hosts: Jake Rojas | Sara Ossana

Car walk from 12-1
Talkback at 1
Open walk around 2-4

Jake Rojas

Rojas originates from El Paso, TX and is a graduate of the Culinary Art Institute of Dallas. Some of his earlier career tours were Sous Chef at Joel Robuchon at the Mansion MGM, Sous chef at Alain Ducasse’s Mix, and the Four Seasons resort in West Palm beach. A move to New England prompted opening and operating Tallulah on Thames, a globally inspired farm to Table restaurant in Newport RI. In a desire to embody the flavors from his childhood and celebrate the technique from working with the best culinary leaders in the country, Rojas opened and now operates Tallulah’s Taqueria, now with 3 locations in RI.

Being from El Paso, Rojas grew up with Chicano culture and its deep roots in lowrider car culture. From a young age, Rojas was inspired by the idea of amplifying a car’s appearance through his own personal expression. His youth was spent in a ‘custom car family’ which inspired him to be part of the build process, exercising his creative eye for a car’s personality and identity in the world. Through refurbishment, Rojas found a creative outlet, something that could service his dual needs for honoring and celebrating his culture and curating the evolution of an identity marked by a Chicano and Mexican heritage.

“vivir para cocinar…cocinar para vivir”

Jake Rojas

Car Accolades:

Multiple best in Show winner In New England And California

Member of The Panhandlers CC a Local Vintage Air cooled car club in NE

Owner/ Partner of The Luft Haus an aircooled experience

fletcher-and-co-tucson-headshot-portrait-photography

Sara Ossana

Sara Ossana is a designer, educator and artist. Originally from Tucson, Arizona she grew up in the desert riding horses, motorcycles and four wheelers from the age of five. She learned to drive stick shift in an old Volkswagen Beetle and has a shared affinity for the landscape and history of the southwest with her friend Jake Rojas.

Sara is also a founding partner and former co-owner of O&G Studio. She is a multi-disciplinary creative, designing furniture, product, interiors, identities and narrative environments in theatre and film. She is committed to a personal legacy as an advocate for American design, craft and manufacturing. The term ‘American’ is not limited by country or borders, and instead is a more dynamic use of the term.

Wednesday September 28 12:00-4:00 PM