Synopsis:

In 2024 I curated the exhibition, “Beyond La Llorona: Women & Resistance in Oaxacan Printmaking,” which focused on the representation of lived experiences of women in contemporary Mexican society: from the labourers in the markets often seen as invisible, to calls to action for women’s rights, and in the creation of spaces in the city for the production and creation of art by women printmakers. Some of the artworks included in the exhibition stemmed from large woodblock prints found throughout the streets of Oaxaca. Since then, I have noticed a slow and systematic ‘cleansing’ of the streets of Oaxaca, where today very few large-scale woodblocks with political and critical themes can be seen. This talk will explore the changing urban landscape of downtown Oaxaca, through the ‘disappearing’ and ‘erasure’ of these activist works in public spaces

Presenter:

Dr Laurie (Jane) Dalton is the director/curator of the Acadia University Art Gallery and an adjunct professor. She divides her time between Nova Scotia, Canada and Oaxaca, Mexico. She has curated over 70 exhibitions, working with artists on solo and group projects spanning both historical and contemporary art. Dalton’s research interests lie in visual culture, museums and exhibition history, in particular how  current research projects in Oaxaca include an exhibition that will examine the social, historical and cultural uses of the shopping cart, and research project on the cacerolazo event from 2006.