Michael, a M.A. student in Latin American Studies and recipient of a LAII and Tinker Foundation Field Research Grant  will discuss the research he conducted in Oaxaca, Mexico, on the potential that art has in instigating social change.

Michael's research focuses on the contemporary Mexican artist collective known as Assembly of Revolutionary Artists of Oaxaca (ASARO). His presentation will highlight how ASARO utilizes aesthetic production to diffuse knowledge and thus challenge dominant political paradigms embedded in Mexican society. As a result, the collective of  Mexican youths seeks to open spaces in their community (and Oaxaca’s subculture) by providing a dissenting perspective vis-á-vis  dominant state discourses. ASARO attempts to bring to the fore socio-political issues they deem important to the region, Mexico and the globe that the state tends to overlook.  

Nicholas, an undergraduate of  Latin American Studies,  will present on his experience with grassroots business development in the highland communities.

This presentation will take the viewer on a chicken bus ride into the heart of the Ixil triangle, where Nicholas worked with women's weaving cooperatives and artisan communities to help promote their beautifully intricate textiles. Additionally, Nicholas, along with noted social entrepreneur Greg Van Kirk aided ex-guerrillas in starting a trekking eco-tourism business. This photo exposition hopes to portray the strength of a highland culture that has proudly survived the harshest aspects of Guatemala's forty-year civil war.   In addition to a slide show, there will be a collection of huipiles and weavings dating back to the 1920s.

To view the event flyer, click here.