Multicultural, Multidisciplinary Art Show: Artists and Indigenous Bordadoras Join Aesthetics

This morning in my Inbox appeared two announcements of a multicultural and multidisciplinary Art Show opening on August 23, 2012, at the Spanish Cultural Center in Mexico City. This post shamelessly combines the best of each article. See slide show: Artistas y bordadoras unen estéticas [page not available].

Detail: Bordado in process

For two months, seven artists from Mexico, Spain and Latin America lived and worked side by side with fifteen bordadoras (embroiderers) from the community of Jaltocán in the Huasteca Region of the State of Hidalgo. Not only did the experience influence their work, but it gave them an opportunity to exchange life experiences and cultivate a friendship that goes deeper than just their art.

Titled Hasta Mostla, Until Tomorrow [Mostla is Nahua for 'tomorrow'] the show is a multidisciplinary project that brings together drawing, photography and video around traditional indigenous embroidery in a way that shows the interactions within this group of women from very different backgrounds who nonetheless share the same need to communicate their surroundings through their art.

The project began two years ago when artist Roxy Love began working with a family in that community and contacted curator Clarisa Moura for help to exhibit her project. Months later, Moura sought Roxy’s agreement to develop this work, but with additional artists.

The resulting exhibit of fifty pieces opened on August 23, 2012, at the Cultural Center of Spain (Guatemala No. 18, Col. Centro, Mexico City).

To prepare the exhibition, the artists involved — Dulce Chacón (Mexico), Carmen Segovia (Spain), Rita Ponce de León (Peru), Mariela Sancari (Argentina), Sol Marinucci (Argentina), Roxy Love (Mexico) and Laura Aldrete (Argentina) — traveled to Jaltocán.

"In addition to a seven-hour trip by car, five of which are on a twisty road, the experience made us face an unknown reality, especially for the foreign artists who had never been to Mexico," says Clarisa Moura.

In a recent interview, Moura said that the area is quite poor; there is no tourism and no outside buyers of folk art (artesanía). The women sell their embroidery pieces [bordados] in the market on Thursdays to people who live in the community. For some it is an alternative to the hard work involved in the fields.

In particular, the women who participated in the project also mentioned the director of the Vértigo Galería, who pays them one or two pesos per bordado. They cannot get by on this and have to do other work, like making bread.

Among the pieces on display is Carmen Segovia’s drawing in embroidery of a house containing the family stories of the women who embroider. The piece also includes both the silhouette of another palapa (open-air shelter with palm leaf roof) in the Huasteca Region and Carmen's house in Spain.

Rita Ponce de León developed a book by asking the fifteen women bordadoras to describe the dreams they have at night. Laura Aldrete developed a video montage of the gestures made by the women in one-minute segments.

"The experience of the work has been so pleasant that regardless of the exhibit, we are left with the warmth of the women of Jaltocán. When we said goodbye, they gave us a coronation ceremony typical of the region; and they gave us flowers and mangoes, something much more important than the material," [said the artists.]

The work done for Hasta Mostla allowed the women to earn money to buy a puesto (stall) in the market and thus avoid the fee charged by City Hall for them to sell their bordados on the street. It also helped to repay some debts and to save for school supplies for their children, emphasized Moura.

Spanish original-Milenio [Page no longer available] has the slide show and gives excellent background.

Spanish original-Marvin revista [Page no longer available]: Excellent description of the exhibit.

Still Curious?

Related Jenny's posts:

• Debra Breckeen's Embroidery Art and the Art of Seeing reflects on and reviews the exhibit of Debby's art from April 4 to May 4, 2014, at the Culture Center in the Former Jesuit School of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán; 
• Art and Friendship in Zirahuén, Michoacán describes the artist's home and introduces the 'subversive' crewel-embroidery art of Debra Breckeen, who moved to the community of Zirahuén in 2008; 
• The Art of the Zirahuén Ladies Sewing Circle in Michoacán, México tells the story of the group's first year and includes photos of some of the ladies' work. Background: In June 2011, Debra began offering a class in crewel embroidery to the ladies of Zirahuén. Although proficient in the embroidery techniques of deshilado ('Pulled-Thread') and punta cruz ('Cross-Stitch'), the ladies weren't familiar with the crewel embroidery stitches that are Debra's art form. 
• Jenny's Neighborhood: Making Friends Mexico City-style includes a description of Debra's recommended method for framing embroidery pieces (bordados) for optimal effect. 

From the international citizen's blog Global Voices comes this post:

• English: Embroidering for Peace: Threads, needles and fabrics have become warriors for peace in Mexico. In cities like Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City, men and women of all ages have decided to speak out and share their thoughts and experiences on violence by participating in a collective relief effort through embroidery.
• Español: México: Bordando por la paz: Hilos, agujas y telas se han convertido en guerreros de la paz en México. En ciudades como Monterrey, Guadalajara y Ciudad de México, hombres y mujeres de todas las edades han decidido hablar y compartir sus ideas y experiencias sobre la violencia participando en un esfuerzo colectivo de labor humanitaria a través del bordado.