Visual Art & Encounters
Latin@merica:
Embedding Bodies and Localities
In partnership with Sur Gallery
Saturday May 1st to Saturday, May 29th, 2021
Through a series of installations at Sur Gallery and interviews available on the Mayworks website, Latin@merica: Embedding Bodies and Localities offers the possibility of rethinking how traditional place-based affiliations and notions of cultural identity end up reproduced, reaffirmed, or even transformed in the digital realm.
Alexandra Gelis, Ana Maria Millán, Santiago Tavera and Laura Acosta interrogate some of the key place-based concerns of Latinx identity through their on and offline cultural practice. This tactical interplay between virtual and real space to construct new formulations of territorial identity and new cartographies of urban/rural space, give voice to oppositional discussions through new media technologies, alternative modes of expression and dissemination.
Curated by Claudia Arana.
A 3-part digital exhibition:
Opening Reception with Luis Navarro Del Angel
A live Zoom musical performance, Thursday, May 6th, 6:00-8:00PM.
Latin@merica: Embedding Bodies and Localities Digital Exhibition
Saturday May 1st to Saturday, May 29th, 2021
LATIN@MERICA: IN CONVERSATION with Eva Salinas
Saturday May 1st to Saturday, May 29th, 2021
Visit the physical exhibition at Sur Gallery
39 Queens Quay E #100
Toronto, ON M5E 0A5
Visit the digital exhibition at www.surgalleryvirtual.ca
Claudia arana
is an independent curator, arts administrator, and cultural connector who has instilled in her practice the construction of virtual and physical artistic platforms to promote inclusion of different cultural perspectives. She aims to include socially and politically viable artistic practices through the engagement of physical and digital spaces exploring notions of kinship, memory, radicalization and global migration. She studied Art Theory and Critical Thinking at the School of Visual Arts as well as Advanced Critique at the International Centre of Photography in New York City. Arana is the curator for the ArtworxTO Cultural Hub in Etobicoke for the 2021 Toronto’s Year of Public Art and the current Operations Manager at Sur Gallery.
Ana María Millán
practice addresses the politics of animation in relation to digital cultures and subcultures, gender and propaganda. She has developed techniques based on role-playing and reenactment, using animation as a methodology to create a series of plays that ultimately become narrative films. It speaks from amateur cultures, pop political culture, sound territories and technology to develop flawed and dysfunctional narratives.
Alexandra Gelis
is a Colombian-Venezuelan, media artist with a background in visual arts and is currently a PhD candidate in Environmental Studies at York University. Her work predominantly involves photography, video, electronic and digital processes. Gelis’ work addresses the use of the image in relation to displacement, landscape and politics beyond borders or culturally specific subjects. She also works as an educator/facilitator, leading video and photography workshops for youth in marginalized communities in Canada, Colombia and Panama.
Santiago Tavera and Laura Acosta
Santiago Tavera constructs immersive and interactive installations that explore virtual narratives of dislocation and perception. His multimedia video compositions, 3D graphic animations, text, sound and reflective materials evoke experiences of physical, digital and queer notions of identification and representation. Tavera holds an MFA in Intermedia from Concordia University and a BA with an Honor Specialization in Visual Arts and a Major in Psychology from Western University. Tavera is currently a visiting scholar and project manager at the Elastic Spaces Multimedia lab at Concordia University.
Laura Acosta creates absurd scenes integrating improvised movement, textile structures and multimedia elements as a way to explore themes of identity and representation. Her audiovisual compositions depict objects or individuals in a process of identification, translation or adaptation in order to create ephemeral moments of displacement in public and private settings. She holds an MFA in Fibers and Material Studies from Concordia University, an interdisciplinary BFA from NSCAD University, and an advanced diploma in Fine Arts from Fanshawe College. Currently, Laura works at Concordia University as Head of Costumes in the Theatre Department.