Tequio Aqui, Tequio Allá (Tequio Here, Tequio There)
Curated by Christina Sanchez and Cayetano Juarez
Exhibition Dates: October 5 to November 23, 2013
Exhibition Times: Tuesday to Saturday, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 5, 2013, 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Community Dialogue Day: Saturday, November 16, 2013, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
How Do You Serve Your Community and What Does It Mean To You?
The William Grant Still Arts Center’s Tequio Aqui, Tequio Allá brings together artists who are involved in sustaining or examining the Oaxacan practice of tequio in a post-migration urban context. The exhibition examines how this internalized tradition of service manifests itself in the civic, familial, and cultural lives of Oaxacan migrants.
A tequio is a call to a pueblo to perform communal work for a mutual benefit; it is essentially a mandatory community service project that asks residents to contribute their labor free of charge. When Oaxacans in Los Angeles speak about these exercises in mutual aid they often describe something that goes far beyond supporting infrastructure projects in their hometowns. Instead, they are describing a way of life which is dedicated to ensuring the survival of their traditions and spiritual customs. The artists represented in this exhibition have all participated in various manifestations of tequio in their respective communities.
- Daniel Godínez Nivón and the Asamblea de Migrantes Indígenas de la Ciudad de México (the Assembly of Indigenous Migrants of Mexico City) present their illustrative tequiografias which are modeled on the Mexican state-sanctioned educational monographs for school children. These tequiografias are a reclamation of these monographs and depict alternative educational lessons as explained by indígenas living in Mexico City.
- The Los Angeles based female painting collective Mujer de Barro, Mujeres de Hierro (Woman of Clay, Women of Iron) operates under the guidance of Oaxacan painters Calixto Shibaja and Maricruz Shibaja and uses painting as a vehicle for uplifting immigrant women and building strong female bonds. Collective artists are Alma Cadilto, Ana Santamaria, Daisy Ocampo, Magally Catalan, Marilu Hinojosa, and Maria Plata.
- Photographer Jeseca Dawson visits the Mujer de Barro, Mujeres de Hierro studio and teams up with the painters to begin the documentation of their collective process.
- Christina Sanchez and Cayetano Juarez exhibit their video Tequio Aqui, Tequio Allá, featuring interviews with Los Angeles based Oaxacans from multiple Oaxacan municipalities to reflect on how tequio practices are sustained post-migration.
- Oaxacan artists Noel Vargas Hernandez and Maricruz Shibaja contribute prints and paintings which pay homage to their Oaxacan roots.
The FREE opening reception on Saturday, October 5 will begin at 3pm with a procession led by the neighborhood banda Alma del Valle and the folkloric dance group Princesa Donaji.
The opening on Saturday, October 5 will also feature a concert by Los Angeles-based Son Jarocho group Conjunto Jardin. Conjunto Jardin perform traditional music from Veracruz, neighboring state to Oaxaca. Son Jarocho features Spanish, Indigenous, and African sound influences coming from the music’s roots across eras in Veracruz.
SPECIAL PROGRAM EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Opening Concert – Saturday, October 5, 2013, 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Performance by Conjunto Jardin with procession led by banda Alma del Valle and Oaxacan folkloric dance group Princesa Donaji.
Community Discussion – Saturday, November 16, 2013, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sisterhood of West Adams Workshop – POSTPONED UNTIL 2014
Sisterhood of West Adams Workshop will be a half-day workshop facilitated by Shekinah Shakur and Amanda Perez to work on creating bridges between women in West Adams, ranging from full-time at-home mothers and working women to homeless sex workers. Shekinah Shakur’s background is as a doula, focusing on women’s health and healing from trauma, and as a community organizer. Amanda Perez is a community organizer working on creating Black and Brown bonds, particularly with women transitioning out of the prison system.
Conjunto Jardin’s concert on October 5 at The William Grant Still Arts Center is sponsored by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission through the Free Concerts in Public Sites program.
The William Grant Still Arts Center 