Ignite Rural: Where Are They Now? w/ Rocky Casillas Aguirre
IIgnite Rural: Where Are They Now? is a storytelling series featuring alumni of the Ignite Rural Artist Residency, capturing a snapshot in time of what they’ve been up to since completing their residency. Rocky’s interview was conducted in Autumn 2025.
Rocky Casillas Aguirre participated in the 2022-2023 Ignite Rural Artist Residency program which supported the publication of his first comic book, Twitch and The Mystic Weenie.
Rocky Casillas Aguirre, MN
Since his time with Ignite Rural, Rocky’s world has gotten bigger, literally and figuratively. Bigger walls, bigger conversations, bigger crowds, and a bigger sense of his own voice.
This past year marked a major milestone: Rocky’s first solo gallery exhibition. Rocky’s creative passion became an immersive experience supported by a Minnesota State Arts Board grant. Over the course of months, Rocky produced more than seventy pieces consisting of comics, prints, interactive installations, and a new animation titled “Stresszilla.” There was so much work, he shared, that there wasn’t enough wall space to hold it all.
But for Rocky, the exhibition wasn’t just about filling walls. Rocky wanted to create space for community to come together and feel seen. Every piece was bilingual, Spanish and English, and centered on mental health, particularly within the Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities. Rocky spent nearly a year researching how anxiety lives within the body, how our nervous systems try to protect us, and how to translate dense, clinical language into something accessible and digestible. He wanted people to understand that their bodies weren’t betraying them, but instead working to keep them safe.
So he built something immersive. An exhibit featuring six-foot cardboard characters for photo ops, interactive prompts, a comment box, and an invitation to stay.
More than 750 people came through over the month the exhibit was up. Around 120 showed up just for the opening. Dozens left notes sharing how Rocky’s art impacted them. One visitor shared that they were struggling with self-esteem but left the exhibit feeling seen. Another said that they learned more in one evening what therapy has taken years to unpack. The arts center shared that this was one of the most successful shows they’ve had. Rocky shares that was the goal: to help people feel less alone and more connected.
Ignite Rural helped plant the seeds to embrace vulnerability. He smiles as he thinks back on his time with the program, “it was like AA for artists but in the best way.” It was one of the first times he’d ever been in a room with other rural creatives talking honestly about money, boundaries, burnout, and how lonely this work can sometimes be. Coming from a biology background and nonprofit work, it was refreshing to share space with like-minded people who experience similar situations and it increased his confidence to grow his own vulnerability.
His practice is expanding too. While still rooted in comics, he’s begun creating short animations talking about mental health on TikTok and YouTube. Online, Rocky reaches thousands, and in person, he has traveled to markets, comic cons, Pride festivals, and celebrations across the Midwest, connecting with an estimated 2,000 people face-to-face. Recently, he has also ventured into murals and large-scale public art, pushing himself into new creative practices. He shares that when he thinks about the long-term future, he hopes to bring his graphic novels into national stores, complete book number 2, and maybe an animated series.
When asked what advice he has to offer to folks who want to follow in his steps, he gently offers “don’t compare yourself. Success isn’t overnight. It’s slow and steady and showing up for it.” And that’s exactly what Rocky does. He keeps making, keeps sharing, and keeps building spaces of belonging everywhere he goes.
Rocky Casillas Aguirre is a Mexican and LGBTQ artist based in southern Minnesota. He is the Founder and Creative at Rokaturas LLC, an arts and entertainment studio on a mission to help youth awaken to their infinite potential. Since 2020, Rokaturas has centered on producing accessible mental health resources for kids and teens including children’s books, comics, animations and interactive exhibitions. Over the years, Rocky has reached thousands of youths online and across the Midwest – encouraging them to befriend their feelings and live authentically with help from his locally famous character, Twitch – a curious and loving little flame. Rocky’s work is inspired by personal struggles with identity and anxiety, and the exploration of the mind. See Rocky’s website here.
Many thanks to the Ignite Rural Program Director, Holly Doll, Anpao Win (First Light Woman), for conducting and organizing the Where Are They Now? Series.
