This roundtable conversation featuring Mexican and Mexican American visual artists, lead by artist and ESPAC curator Esteban King, will discuss what Americans miss when they think of Mexican contemporary art and will ask if the hesitation to embrace contemporary art is universal or cultural. Participants include visual artists Edgar Cobián (Guadalajara), Salvador Jiménez-Flores (Chicago), Libia Bianibi (Oaxaca/Chicago), and more.

MAKE Literary Production’s 5th annual Lit & Luz Festival of Language, Literature, and Art, themed “Assembly,” is an ambitious exchange between Mexico City and Chicago. The week-long festival takes place at over a dozen arts venues and universities throughout Chicago, October 13th-20th. The following March, a similar series of events are held in Mexico City. Programs include readings, conversations, and our signature event, the “Live Magazine Show”—which makes its Museum of Contemporary Art debut this year.

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS

Libia Bianibi (b. Juchitán, Oaxaca) is a cultural worker based in Chicago, doing operations for nonprofits through an equity lens. As an independent researcher, she analyzes how cultural policy and museological practices objectify indigenous peoples, while strategizing how to implement progressive values in the internal practices of arts organizations. She holds a BA in Art History from Universidad Iberoamericana and a MA in Arts Administration & Policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Libia Bianibi (Juchitán, Oaxaca) es una gestora cultural en Chicago, haciendo operaciones para ONG’s a través de un enfoque en equidad. Como investigadora independiente analiza cómo las culturas indígenas son objetificadas por políticas culturales y prácticas museísticas, mientras que crea estrategias para implementar valores progresistas en las prácticas internas de organizaciones culturales. Cuenta con una Licenciatura en Historia del Arte de la Universidad Iberoamericana y una Maestría en Política y Administración de las Artes de School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The work of Edgar Cobián (b. 1978, Guadalajara, Mexico) covers different formats and media such as drawing, sculpture, and sound from a critical perspective. As a musician he performs in Cráneo Verde Humeante and Peor Aún. He is a member of the Organizing Committee of the Doña Pancha Fest, an underground festival.

El trabajo de Edgar Cobián (Guadalajara, México,1978) abarca distintos formatos y medios como dibujo, escultura, sonido, etc. desde una perspectiva crítica. Como músico ha creado los proyectos Cráneo Verde Humeante y Peor Aún. Es miembro del Comité Organizador del festival underground Doña Pancha Fest.

Salvador Jiménez-Flores is an interdisciplinary artist born in México. In his work he explores the themes of colonization, migration, “the other,” stereotypes, and futurism. Most recently he completed a two year-long artist residency at the Harvard Ceramics Program, Office of the Arts at Harvard University. Also he served as the Artist-In-Residence for the City of Boston. Jiménez-Flores is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grants and was awarded the Kohler Arts Industry Residency for 2019. He was recently appointed Assistant Professor in ceramics at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Esteban King Álvarez (b. 1986, Mexico) is a researcher, art historian, and curator. He holds an MA in Art History from the UNAM and is curator of the collective exhibitions Transcripciones (Museo Universitario del Chopo, 2014), Una red de líneas que se intersecan (ESPAC, 2016) and La nueva onda del silencio (El cuarto de máquinas, 2017), among others. From 2012 to 2015 he was curator and chief researcher at the Museo Universitario del Chopo. Since 2015 he has worked as curator at ESPAC, Contemporary Art Space, and is a professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana.

Esteban King Álvarez (México, 1986) es investigador y curador de arte moderno y contemporáneo. Es Maestro en Historia del Arte por la UNAM. Curador, entre otras, de las muestras colectivas Transcripciones (Museo del Chopo, 2014), Una red de líneas que se intersecan (ESPAC, 2016) y La nueva onda del silencio (El cuarto de máquinas, 2017). De 2012 a 2015 se desempeñó como curador y jefe de investigación del Museo Universitario del Chopo. Fue becario de Jóvenes Creadores en la categoría de Ensayo en el periodo 2015-16. Actualmente es curador en ESPAC, Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo, y profesor de asignatura en la Universidad Iberoamericana.

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Tags: Bridgeport, Chicago, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Contemporary Art Mexico, Edgar Cobián, Esteban King Álvarez, Libia Bianibi, Lit & Luz Festival, Salvador Jiménez-Flores