EVENTS: Saturday, February 19, 6-8pm: Opening Reception at 516 ARTS, 516 Central Ave. SW, Downtown Albuquerque
Sunday February 20, 1pm: Artist Talk with special guest artists Pepón Osorio & Amalia Mesa-Bains at The Albuquerque Museum, 2000 Mountain Rd. NW2011.
HOURS: 516 ARTS is open Tue - Sat, 12-5pm
HOW MUCH: FreePRESS RELEASE
Latino/a Visual Imaginary: Intersection of Word & Image
516 ARTS announces Latina/o Visual Imaginary: Intersection of Word & Image, an exhibition focusing on the connectedness between contemporary Latino arts and literature, their influence on intercultural experiences and their significance as expressions of human values within an historical and social context. Inspiration for the project stems from East Coast/Southwest—Latino Literary Imagination: Narrative Voices and the Spoken Word, a bi-regional conference featuring Latino/a writers and critics in New Jersey with Rutgers University, and in Albuquerque hosted by the University of New Mexico and the National Hispanic Cultural Center (April 15–16, 2011).
Guest Curator for the exhibition at 516 ARTS, Dr. Holly Barnet-Sanchez, describes its concept and objective, “The relationships between the visual, literary and performing arts are especially close and intertwined within Latino communities across the country. Many visual artists are also writers, musicians, performance artists and actors. This project will explore the role of narrative as visual, verbal and textual—within the lived Latino/a experience.” Latina/o Visual Imaginary will feature installations by special guest artists Amalia Mesa-Bains and Pepón Osorio, and a group of emerging and established Latino/a artists who have been selected for the visual/textual narrative relationship in their work including Viva Paredes, Kai Margarida-Ramírez de Arellano, Elena Baca, Yreina Cervantez and Spain Rodriguez among others.
This exhibition at 516 ARTS is a central part of the collaboration titled Latino/a Imaginary, which features visual, literary and performing arts programs during spring 2011 with partner organizations including The Albuquerque Museum, Tamarind Institute, National Hispanic Cultural Center, Outpost Performance Space and UNM Zimmerman Library. Stay tuned for the guide to public programs. For information about 516 ARTS and related programs with project partners, visit www.516arts.org
All programs listed here are free and take place at 516 ARTS unless otherwise noted.
FEBRUARY
Saturday, February 19, 6-8pm: Opening Reception
Meet many of the artists and celebrate the exhibition opening at 516 ARTS with live music.
Sunday February 20, 1pm: Artist Talk with Pepón Osorio & Amalia Mesa-Bains
Join The Albuquerque Museum and 516 ARTS for a talk with very special guest artists Pepón Osorio from Philadelphia and Dr. Amalia Mesa-Bains from San Francisco. Pepón Osorio creates large-scale installations that merge conceptual art and community dynamics, emphasizing the exhibition space as an intermediary between the social architecture of communities and the art world. Amalia Mesa-Bains draws upon ancient and cross-cultural altar-building traditions while engaging contemporary theories of loss, cultural and psychological ruins, and the possibilities of resistant cultural memory. This event takes place at The Albuquerque Museum, 2000 Mountain Rd. NW, 505-243-7255, www.cabq.gov/abqmuseum
MARCH
Women & Creativity
Saturday, March 5, 2pm: Each and Her - Reading by Valerie Martínez
Each and Her is a book-length, collage poem that addresses the murders of over 500 women in Juárez, Mexico since 1993. It engages with works of contemporary Mexican poets, photographers and painters, American theologians, and Latin American and Chicano writers.
Saturday, March 12, 10am-noon: The Cutting Edge - Papel Picado workshop
Join artist Kai Margarida-Ramírez de Arellano for a hands-on workshop on contemporary applications of the 300-year old Mexican folk art of paper cutting. Info/register: 505-242-1445, info@516arts.org
Saturday, March 12, 2pm: Gallery Talk
Join Curator Dr. Holly Barnet-Sanchez and artists Elena Baca and Kai Margarida-Ramírez de Arellano for a talk in the gallery about the exhibition Latino/a Visual Imaginary: Intersection of Word & Image, focusing on the connectedness between contemporary Latino arts and literature.
Saturday, March 26, 8pm: 516 WORDS Reading
516 ARTS presents an evening of poetry and music in the gallery, featuring New Mexico Latina poets Cathy Arellano, Andrea Serrano, Jessica Helen Lopez, Georgia Santa Maria and Maria Leyba.
March events are part of the Women & Creativity series organized by the National Hispanic Cultural Center. For more information, visit www.nhccnm.org
APRIL
Thursday, April 14 - Sunday, April 16: East Coast/Southwest—Latino Literary Imagination conference at multiple locations. For information, call 505-277-0564 or visit http://finearts.unm.edu
Friday, April 15, 6-8pm: Conference Reception at 516 ARTS, celebrating East Coast/Southwest—Latino Literary Imagination conference, with live music, open to the public.