Miembros Newsletter: December 2022

A Message from The Director

2022 Was a Year of Gathering & Excitement – We Appreciate You!

We thank you, our friends, and our supporters who inspired us and made successes in 2022 possible. The community’s invaluable support makes high quality exhibitions, vibrant cultural events, and artistic education services possible. Your contributions have allowed us to serve the growing number of students and families this year, through in person and online programming. We invite you to make your end of the year donation to Mexic-Arte Museum and support the art exhibitions and award-winning education programs that strengthen the community!

A Glance at Mexic-Arte Throughout the Year!

January 2022

Announcing U.S. Latinx Art Forum’s Second “X as Intersection” Series – Resistance, Reaffirmation, and Resilience

February 2022

Honoring and Reaffirming the Afro-Latinx Artists, History and Culture

March 2022

Changarrito with Sandra de la Rosa

April 2022

Opening of Chicana/o Art Movimiento y Más en Austen, Tejas 1960s-1980s

May 2022

Taste of Mexico, A Cinco de Mayo Celebration

June 2022

Mural live painting by local Chicano Muralist Raul Valdez

July 2022

Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino Directors Visit Mexic-Arte

August 2022

Presenting ELA 26: Histories of Transformation / Historias de Transformación

September 2022

Rafael Navarro Barajas Murals Donated to Mexic-Arte Museum

October 2022

39th Annual Viva La Vida – Day of the Dead Fest & Parade

November 2022

Akins High School Wings Up Mural Reveal

Congratulations to the Newly Elected Mexic-Arte Museum Board of Directors Officers

Paul Saldaña, President –  Paul is the President of Saldaña Public Relations. Saldaña Public Relations launched with a single goal: to meet our clients’ needs for building awareness, trust and credibility for their projects, services or brands within Austin’s diverse communities.

Elizabeth Caples Rogers, Vice President Development & Public Affairs – Elizabeth is an attorney with Michael Best & Friedrich LLP.

Nick Barreiro, Secretary – Nick is the Co-Owner of Clay Imports. In 2012, Clay Imports was founded and developed by brothers Zac and Nick Barreiro out of a love for tile, an appreciation for craftsmanship, and a passion for international travel.

Erwin Cuellar, Treasurer – Erwin leads the finances at his family’s manufacturing business, Fenix Post Tension.

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We also want to thank Kim Wilson Vincent for her past service; she will be moving out of Austin.  Kim has served on the Board of Director since 2012 and served on the Executive Committee as an officer from 2012 to 2022. Kim assisted the Museum in garnering support from The University of Texas and other organizations, provided advice and counsel on many contracts and served on special events committees for the Catrina Gala and Taste of Mexico. Thank you so much for your service and we wish you and your family the best in your endeavors. We will miss you on the Board.

Happy Holidays and Thank You So Much!

Executive Director

Sylvia Orozco

Exhibitions

You’re Invited to Participate in Mix ‘n’ Mash: Alimento para el alma / Food for the soul

Mexic-Arte Museum is pleased to announce a call for entries for our annual Mix ‘n’ Mash Exhibition and Art Sale, which will open on Friday, February 24, 2023. Our art sale not only increases awareness about the visual arts and art collecting in the community, but also provides funding for the Museum’s exhibitions, supports educational programming for children and adults, and sustains upkeep and care of the permanent collection. This year’s theme is Alimento para el alma / Food for the soul.

Food has the ability to lift the spirit and bring communities together. Food traditions are often passed from one generation to the next, bringing us closer to our history and our families. Food preparation also has as much creative potential as any traditional media (painting, drawing, sculpting, etc.)  Austin is home to people from many countries. Mexic-Arte Museum, located in Central Texas and situated so close to the state’s capitol, has the opportunity to host people from all over the state, country, and world. They bring a variety of tastes and food memories with them. In Alimento para el alma / Food for the soul we celebrate the variety of foods interpreted by artists.

We are inviting artists to create one work of art on a 12” x 12” eco-friendly and archival quality Gessobord generously donated by Ampersand.

HOW DO I PARTICIPATE?

1. Starting December 19, 2022, Artists may pick up ONE Gessobord at the Mexic-Arte Museum on Monday – Thursday 10 AM-6 PM; Friday – Saturday 10 AM-5 PM; and Sunday 12 PM-5 PM
2. A credit card will be kept on file when you pick up your Gessobord. If you do not return your Gessobord, $25 will be charged to the credit card on file. 
3. Every artist is free to create a work of art in any style (including figurative, conceptual, abstract, surreal, popular, etc.) and media (painting, printmaking, photography, and more) that depicts their individual theme. Any theme may be used, but artists who choose the Alimento para el alma / Food for the soul theme*** will be featured in a special section.
4. Board numbers are assigned, please check the back of your board for your number.
5. Before returning your board, fill out the registration form that is attached to the back of your board and the online form. Artists must complete both digital and hardcopy forms to be compensated.
6. We ask that all completed submissions be delivered to the Museum by February 10, 2023 (late submissions will be accepted, but may not be included in the opening reception).

About the Opening Reception on February 24, 2022:

• The Mix ‘n’ Mash Exhibit and Art Sale
• Cocktails, music, and great fun!
• The public is encouraged to purchase one or more panels to create their own diptychs, triptychs, and more.
   

WHAT DO I GET FOR PARTICIPATING? 

1. The boards will be sold for $150 a piece unless otherwise determined by Mexic-Arte. Artists will receive a 40% commission from each board sold, and the boards will remain available for purchase while they are on display in the Mix ‘n’ Mash exhibition. At the close of the exhibition any unsold boards and future sales will be considered donations to the museum. These donations are tax deductible. 
2. As a participating artist, you will receive a one-year Individual Level Membership to Mexic-Arte Museum. Membership benefits include free admission to all exhibitions and select events, invitations to Member Preview opening receptions, subscription to the Museum E-Newsletter, and 10% off Museum Store purchases.
3. You will also receive two complimentary tickets for you and a guest to attend the opening night party on Friday, February 24, from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. There will be a $10 admission fee for the public, and the event will be free for members.

Thank you for considering this unique collaborative opportunity, we hope that you will join us!

Highlighting ELA 26: Histories of Transformation / Historias de Transformación Artists

This month we recognize two of the artists in ELA 26 – Kat Cadena and Marcelina Gonzales.

Kat Cadena is a multimedia artist, celebrated muralist, and independent illustrator. She was raised by multiple generations of strong, proud, and fierce mestiza women in San Antonio, Texas. Cadena’s artist statements is, “In my work, I often personify the feelings that some womxn survive and some were not able to overcome. The forces that push my hands to create are a mix of personal and ancestral trauma; entangled feelings of pride and shame, desperation for safety and inevitable terror, and the intricate, knotted feelings that so many womxn endure and attempt to heal throughout their often-painful lives. Through this creative, reflective process, I join hearts with my sisters, empower each other through our mutual understanding, and seek to inspire awareness and transformation of our condition and position in society. Despite the dark themes driving my work, my artwork is often colorful, light, refreshing and energizing in appearance. Such is life; sadness, happiness, terror, and glee can all happen in a few moments. The idea is that beyond the darkness lies power, resistance, community, growth, and love. Despite all odds, we bloom.”

“My concept is to illustrate a Nahuatl flower song from Cuicapeuhcóyotl (Principio de Los cantos) about a poet visiting Xochitlalpan, the Flowering Land.

I learned of flower songs from my traditional herbalism teacher in San Antonio, and we reflected on our relationships with plants and the land we live on. My idea is to represent (1) flowers as an abundant source of inspiration and joy for humanity, and throughout the ages from renowned late Náhautl poets to contemporary artists and herbalists and (2) smoke as a way of cleansing flowers for spiritual or medical uses.

Flowers have inspired much of our art and culture and have been utilized as herbal remedies for centuries, and are still used today, along with smoke. I want to highlight flowers as a constant in our culture but transform this ancient flower song into an illustration through my perception. I intend to include text in it somewhere about medicine/flowers in a positive light, to provide a little bit of context about traditional Mexican medicine, for those that can relate or remember,” Cadena said.

Marcelina Gonzales is a resin collage artist born and raised in Brownsville, Texas. She uses bright and playful narratives to reconstruct the cloudy and fragmented memories of her time growing up and coming of age along the border. The Rio Grande Valley is a unique place for its fusion of Mexican and American culture and traditions but regarded with contempt by outlets that promote its poverty, lack of education, and danger. “Through the telling of stories that are sometimes embarrassing or personally traumatic, I am working to reconcile the shame triggered by the circumstances and external barriers set by my perceived identity, ability, and class.” Gonzales uses personal accounts infused with love and humor to explore the complexities of identity, culture, and womanhood to transform the experiences into messages of celebration and empowerment.”

ELA Conversations #2: Pushing for Transformation

On Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 7:00 pm, ELA curators Isabel Servantez and Luisa Fernanda Perez moderated the second in a series of three panel discussions of ELA artists. This discussion included Daniel Calderon-Arenas, Isabel Ann Castro, Natasha I. Hernandez, Gabi Magaly, and Fabian Guerrero. These artists, brought together because of their similar focuses on pushing for change in art making practices and Latinx culture discussed their creative practices and this year’s ELA theme of transformation. If you missed this panel discussion, you can watch it on our Facebook page.

December Changarrito Artist, Maia Castillo

On December 15, 2022 at 5:00 pm, Mexic-Arte Museum Curator of Exhibitions and Director of Programs, Isabel Servantez interviewed Maia Castillo as part of the monthly Changarrito art cart residency on Mexic-Arte’s Instagram page on Instagram Live. Castillo, based in Austin, has a creative practice that consists of digital experimental works and portraiture. Using their commercial style of graphic design alongside their fine art photography, they explore topics of identity, mental health, and social and environmental phenomena.

If you missed the interview, you can watch it here.

Maia will be at the Mexic-Arte Museum featuring their artwork on the Changarrito cart right outside the Museum’s entrance on December 17 & 18th from 12 pm – 3 pm. Come out and buy their artwork and get to know them in person! 

About The Artist

Maia Castillo is a multimedia artist from Houston, TX whose art practice is based on photographing a portion of a surreal world that behaves as a metaphor for their experiences and environment.

Honing their skills in the wet darkroom by creating traditional landscape photographs in high school and the first two years of college, their current work now consists of digital experimental works and portraiture. Using their commercial style of graphic design alongside their fine art photography, they explore topics of identity, mental health, and social and environmental phenomena. 

Maia came to Austin for their undergraduate studies at St. Edward’s University and graduated with a BA in Photography and Media Arts and a minor in Graphic Design in 2022. They currently reside in Austin, TX, and they are the Digital Media Associates here at Mexic-Arte.

They have won two ATPI awards, shown works in the Da Vinci Art gallery in Tomball, TX, and have been in the Student Juried Exhibition at St Edward’s fine arts gallery two years in a row. Their most recent group feature was in Mas Cultura Fest this past November.

About Changarrito Program:

Changarrito is an art vending cart, conceptualized by artist Maximo Gonzalez as an alternative to the official gallery selection presented by the Mexican cultural authorities. 

True to the Mexic-Arte Museum’s mission, the Changarrito is dedicated to the presentation and promotion of contemporary Latinx and Latin American art. Artists have the opportunity to sell their art on the Changarrito cart in front of the Museum (or an offsite location, as representative for the Museum during various Austin festivals). It expands the reach of the artist by presenting their gallery online, while allowing the option to sell merch over Instagram and receive 100% of the sale. For each Changarrito artist, the Museum acquires a work of art for its permanent collection.

Collections

El Nacimiento

To celebrate the holidays, the Mexic-Arte Museum is pleased to present a variety of nacimientos, or nativity scenes, from the Permanent Collection, with assistance of the generous donations of Edwin R. Jordan and Priscilla Murr. The nacimientos on display represent all over Mexico, including Chihuahua, Izúcar de Matamoros, Oaxaca, Mexico City, Metepec, Santa Maria de Garcia, Tlaquepaque, and Tonalá. 

Christmas in Mexico is a vibrant and festive holiday season with a unique set of traditions that were formed by the blending of Spanish Colonial and indigenous Mexican cultures. The Aztec people of pre-Columbian Mexico paid homage to the birth of the god Huitzilopochtli during this time of year, with celebrations that began at midnight and continued throughout the following day. When Spanish colonists brought the Christian faith to the Americans in the 16th century, missionaries noticed similarities between the Christian celebration of Christmas and the Aztec celebrations, facilitating the integration of Christianity into the lives of the indigenous people.

The tradition of setting up nacimiento can be traced back to St. Francis of Assisi. In 1223 A.D. It is said he journeyed to the Convent of Monte Colombo where he told an acquaintance that he wanted to celebrate Christmas by creating a nativity scene as a reminder of the birth of Christ using a live donkey and ox. When nacimentos were first introduced in Mexico, they were only set up in churches and other public places of worship. It was not until decades later when it became more common to build them in covenants and private homes. Today, the Mexican tradition of setting up a nativity scene retains its religious and spiritual significance. Each year on December 16th, nacimientos are set up in homes throughout the country.

As with many other art forms in Mexico, nativity scenes demonstrate the diversity and richness of its cultural ancestry. Perhaps more importantly, nacimientos capture the imagination and spirit of the people of this great country.