The University Art Museum at New Mexico State University invites the community for a week to remember with a panel discussion and poetry workshop.
Artists Bella Maria Varela, Hazel Batrezchavez and Pico del Hierro-Villa will discuss on artistic influences and nuanced identity on the border from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Tuesday Jan. 30 at the Bleachers inside Devasthali Hall.
Originally from El Paso, Hierro-Villa is influenced by Chicana feminist theory and art and interprets Chicana feminists’ critical approaches into creating a visual storytelling method.
Varela is a multimedia artist whose work critiques mainstream anti-immigration rhetoric and subverts the appropriation of Latin culture using photography, video and performance.
Batrezchavez self identifies as a brown, queer artist and educator whose art is rooted in the politics of survival and the poetics of movement using textiles, performance and sculpture.
Highlighting the unique lived experiences of the Borderlands, education and outreach coordinator Eva Gabriella Flynn will moderate this discussion, which is free and open to the public. Those who can’t attend in-person can join via Zoom at https://nmsu.zoom.us/j/81160542651.
Later that week NMSU Spanish professor Rodrigo Figueroa will lead a free poetry workshop from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1 in the Zane Bennett Collection Study room. Figueroa has published two poetry books in Mexico and one in the United States. His workshop takes inspiration from “Celia Álvarez Muñoz: Breaking the Binding,” an exhibition currently on display in the UAM until March 2.
The workshop is organized in partnership with LC Spoken Word, a local group dedicated to fostering community through poetry. LC Spoken Word regular organizes workshops and open mic nights. Follow their events on Instagram.
Stay up to date with future UAM events on their website or on Instagram. The art museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, call 575-646-2545 or email artmuseum@nmsu.edu .
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CUTLINE: The University Art Museum is hosting a panel discussion on Jan. 30 and a poetry workshop on Feb. 1 inspired by “Celia Álvarez Muñoz: Breaking the Binding,” an exhibition currently on display until March 2. Both events are free and open to the public. (Courtesy photo)