Walking into Pablo Ayala’s third-floor studio at the University of Utah’s fine arts building, the space feels still. There’s a sense of reverence like stepping into a museum. Concrete slabs, fiber textures, paintings and tools are spread throughout the space.

For Ayala, an MFA student and multidisciplinary artist, this space is where stories are honored — not only their own, but those of their parents, their community and immigrant families across the country.

Their work, which will be featured in this year’s Latino Arts Festival on June 13-15 at Canyons Village, embodies the labor and sacrifices that immigrant communities make to support their families.

“Growing up here in Salt Lake as an undocumented immigrant, I saw my parents work two to three jobs every day, and most of those jobs

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