Event Description
Gabriel Pérez provided an overview of the development of cultural art institutions in Nicaragua, highlighting their enterprise to depoliticize artistic practices and preserve dominant structures.
This critical art history is divided into two parts: first, a historical overview following the development of art institutions from the last 40 years; and second, an examination of grassroots efforts in critical art management, emphasizing self-governance, experimentation, feminist education, and political commitment.
Some questions explored in this program included: How has contemporary art been managed in Nicaragua? What institutional forces determine what kind of art is produced and promoted in Nicaragua? What are some examples of censorship in the history of contemporary art in Nicaragua? How have artists resisted and fought back against governmental, private, and non-profit limitations on art and culture?
Speaker
Gabriel Pérez is a Nicaraguan educator, artist, and community organizer currently exiled in Mérida, Yucatán. He holds a Master of Arts in Critical Theory from 17, Instituto de Estudios Críticos (Mexico), and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Philosophy from Warren Wilson College. In Nicaragua, he was the co-director of the Casa Cultural La Rizoma in Managua from 2015 to 2018. He led cultural initiatives in Central America, such as the debate show Zona de Transición and the art and culture network COLMENAS. As an artist, in 2015 and 2018, he participated in the Residency for Central American Emerging Artists. He has curated art exhibitions in Nicaragua, Mexico, and the United States. While living in Philadelphia, he taught documentary media and journalism in that city’s public high schools. He writes about philosophy, art, politics, social criticism, and the history of Nicaragua.