Join The Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council and the National Museum of Mexican Art for this City-Wide Café Society.
This event is free and open to the public.
Reservations are recommended and can be made via email, or by phone at 312.422.5580. Groups are encouraged and may reserve up to 15 tickets.
We will release reserved seats 10 minutes before the event begins if registered attendees have not yet arrived.
Now is your chance to explore the National Museum of Mexican Art’s amazing exhibition, Women Artists of Modern Mexico: Frida’s Contemporaries. This critically-acclaimed collection encompasses the inspiring artwork of both popular and little-known painters, photographers, sculptors and muralists described as “revolutionary firebrands” and “compellingly feminine.”
After touring the exhibition, Sylvia Escárcega, Assistant Professor of Latin American and Latino Studiesat DePaul University, will build on the recent and passionate controversy in Mexico surrounding conservative politicians who have recently been accused of misappropriating Frida Kahlo’s legacy. Her presentation will focus on the re-invention and commercialization of progressive thinkers from Frida to Che Guevara to Martin Luther King, Jr.
What is the difference between popularizing these significant historical figures and exploiting their message and image for corporate profit or political gain? Is their legacy static or constantly evolving? Who should have the power to voice their message? Do these individuals “belong” to particular political parties, racial and ethnic groups, or nations?
Following the presentation, attendees will participate in small, facilitated discussions to share reflections on the exhibition and the cultural and personal meanings of misappropriation.
Additional Resources:
- National Museum of Mexican Art
- “Exhibits look at Kahlo’s female contemporaries” – Chicago Tribune
- Mexico’s Rightwing Tries to Claim Leftist Painter’s Soul” – Counterpunch
This event is co-sponsored by the National Museum of Mexican Art. This program is made possible in part by The Joyce Foundation.
More about Sylvia Escárcega:
Sylvia Escárcega has a B.A. in history from Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico and a Ph.D. in anthropology from University of California, Davis. She has done research on transnational migration, gender, and indigenous issues. Since 1997 her research has focused on the politics of indigenousness in the context of the international indigenous movement at the United Nations. She is co-editor of the forthcoming book La Ruta Mixteca: el impacto etnopolítico de la migración transnacional en los pueblos indígenas de México. Currently, she is Assistant Professorin the Latin American and Latino Studies program at DePaul University (Chicago).
This event is free and open to the public.
Reservations are recommended and can be made via email, or by phone at 312.422.5580. Groups are encouraged and may reserve up to 15 tickets.
We will release reserved seats 10 minutes before the event begins if registered attendees have not yet arrived.
For more information, please call 312.422.5580.