New Codex: Oaxaca- Immigration and Cultural Memory Exhibition and “Support the Women of San Francisco Tanivet” Campaign at SPARC

The Social and Public Art Resource Center presents:

New Codex: Oaxaca – Immigration and Cultural Memory / Nuevo Códice Oaxaca: Migración y Memoria Cultural

Opening Reception: Saturday, May 23, 2015
4:00pm – 8:00pm

Exhibition ends August 29, 2015
Gallery is open Tues.-Sat. 11 am – 5 pm

On Saturday, May 23, 2015 from 4 pm – 8 pm, at 685 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291 (Old Venice Police Station – SPARC’s historic headquarters), The Durón Gallery at SPARC will present ‘New Codex: Oaxaca – Immigration and Cultural Memory.’ A touring exhibit curated by Marietta Bernstorff, illuminates the contemporary visual discourse of Oaxaca and explores the impact of immigration to the United States. This exhibit is currently on display at the Museum of Popular Art in Mexico City though the end of April 2015. The opening exhibition at SPARC will also include a mural painting by La Piztola Collective, a contemporary mural collective from Oaxaca.

Artists along with the village of San Francisco Tanivet* and other communities affected by immigration have generated artworks through deep research and intense dialogue. Key questions ranged from: What are the implications for the state of Oaxaca, which has seen over one million inhabitants immigrate to the United States? What is happening to their land in Mexico and the family they left behind? Are we the Mexicans/ Oaxacans able to keep traditions alive within another culture? Has immigration changed the way we see ourselves as a culture?

In conjunction with the exhibition, the participating artist collective known as “The Embroidery Ants of San Francisco Tanivet” along with numerous San Francisco Tanivet villagers are creating art-objects to promote a sustainable source of income for the women and men of their village.

Tanivet Women_620_x_413

During this exhibition, SPARC is asking for contributions to support The Embroidery Ants of San Francisco Tanivet through an Indiegogo campaign.  These women struggle to earn and live on $13 USD a week, working from dawn to dusk each day, while 60% of the villagers have relocated due to environmental changes and minimal government support.

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE “SUPPORT THE WOMEN OF SAN FRANCISCO TANIVET” CAMPAIGN. 

*The community of San Francisco Tanivet, Tlacolula de Matamoros, Oaxaca, located about 20 miles east of the state capital, is a rural community primarily devoted to agricultural production. Due to the lack of income because they cannot sell their native products, and lack of financial support from the state for farming, more than half of the population has largely immigrated to the United States, with a large concentration in Los Angeles, California, specifically Venice and Santa Monica.

Partners for this exhibit include: Western Union Foundation, Secretary of Culture in Oaxaca, Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, Frente Indígena de Organizaciones Binacionales (FIOB), Regional Organization of Oaxaca (ORO) and The Guelaguezta Restaurant.

About SPARC: SPARC is a community-based non-profit arts organization founded in 1976 by Distinguished UCLA professor and artist Judy Baca, filmmaker Donna Deitch, and artist Christina Schlesinger. SPARC is rooted in Art, Community, Education and Social Justice. For more info visit: http://www.SPARCinLA.org