Barbara Simpson-Lara
Photographer, Mixed-Media Artist, Curator, & Filmmaker
Barbara Simpson-Lara is a Riverside-based photographer, mixed-media artist, curator, and filmmaker whose multi-faceted practice explores where the obscure meets reality in the cultural landscape. A deeply embedded fixture of the Inland Empire creative scene since 1989, her work has been exhibited both regionally, including at the Riverside Art Museum and Division 9 Gallery, The Hive, The Makery—and internationally in Mexico and Japan.
As the current Vice President of the Riverside Community Arts Association (RCAA), Simpson-Lara channels her creative energy into institutional leadership and community advocacy. She is the founder and moderator of the acclaimed Mind the Gender Gap exhibition and panel series, a dynamic platform co-sponsored by regional partners, Riverside Arts Council and the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California. The series confronts stark institutional disparities while celebrating how female creators actively enrich and empower one another. Through her administrative leadership and artistic vision, Simpson-Lara continues to spearhead critical conversations surrounding systemic equity, shifting women from the role of passive muse to active, authoritative creators.