Cuauhtémoc Medina
(12th Shanghai Biennale Curator, Manifesta 9, Mexico Pavilion in Venice, and MUAC Director)
in conversation with FHI Social Practice Lab Director Pedro Lasch
with a response from Miguel Rojas Sotelo, Duke-UNC CLACS coordinator, founder of Water Towns Environmental Film and Arts Festival 环保电影艺术节 (China), and director of the NC Latin American Film Festival (USA).
Cuauhtémoc Medina is a critic, curator and art historian. Doctor in History and Theory of Art (PhD) from the University of Essex, UK, and a degree in History from Universidad Autónoma de México. He is a research fellow at Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Chief Curator of the Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC) at U.N.A.M. in Mexico City. Between 2002 and 2008 he was the Tate Modern’s first Associate Curator of Latin American Art for collections.
In 2012, Medina was Head Curator of the Manifesta 9 Biennial in Genk, Belgium, titled The Deep of the Modern, in association with Katerina Gregos and Dawn Ades. In 2018 he was chief curator of the 12th Shanghai Biennial titled. “Proregress. Art in the age of historical ambivalence” at the Power Station of Art. In 2012 he became the sixth recipient of the Walter Hopps Award for Curatorial Achievement of the Menil Foundation. Medina has also curated events and exhibitions like Cuando la fe mueve montañas de Francis Alÿs (Lima, Peru, 2001), 20 Million Mexicans Can’t Be Wrong (South London Gallery, 2002), and La era de la discrepancia. Arte y Cultura Visual en México (1968-1997) (co-curated with Olivier Debroise, Pilar García & Alvaro Vazquez, 2007-2008). In 2009 he curated ¿De qué otra cosa podríamos hablar? The project Teresa Margolles presented at the Mexican Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. He has also organized Dominó Caníbal, a year-long exhibition for PAC Murcia, Spain, in 2010.
Among many publications he has recently published a collection of his essays on Mexican art titled: Abuso Mutuo (Mutual Abuse), RM and Cubo Blanco, 2017 and the book Olinka: El sueño del Dr. Atl in 2019. Other publications include: Francis Alÿs (Phaidon, 2007), “ ‘The 21st century has just begun’… beyond the poetic and political divide”, in: Out of the studio! (Hasselt, Z33 Art Centre, 2008) and “Hacia una nueva anarquitectura”, in: Taiyana Pimentel, coord. Tercerunquinto. Investiduras institucionales (INBA-Conaculta, 2009). Medina writes “Ojo Breve”, a fortnightly column for the newspaper Reforma in Mexico City.
Free and open to all, anywhere in the world
Registration link, and full calendar with all guests and links to bios included below
20-22 The Ongoing Biennial – A Weekly Conversation Cycle with International Curators
Every Wednesday 1-2pm (EST/GMT-5)
Jan 27th and May 5th, 2021
Organized by Pedro Lasch and the FHI Social Practice Lab with support from the Franklin Humanities I World Arts Initiative at Duke University, this Conversation Cycle is part of a larger program entitled ’20-22 The Ongoing Biennial’. In person visits with some of our guests will also be presented at a later stage in collaboration with the the AAHVS Department and the Nasher Museum of Art.
Set in the context of an unprecedented pandemic, global shutdowns, and the rethinking of every aspect of exhibition making, our remote conversations will include curators and other international arts professionals. The first year of the public program will focus on short online dialogues with individual guests. Our one hour long remote events will begin with a casual interview, focusing on the particular trajectory and ideas of each guest in the series, followed by comments from a respondent and questions from the audience. Within this format, we also hope to provide an opportunity for joint reflection on these highly unusual times. Programming for the second year will be announced at a time of greater certainty.
One-time registration at this link will give you access to all of these free and public events:
https://duke.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsd-uhrDgiE9dKfiHakJ_kA58R76wSVlH9
See full calendar below and click on guest names to see bios and more information for each week:
Jan 27 – Ralph Rugoff
Feb 3 – Cuauhtémoc Medina
Feb 10 – Trevor Schoonmaker
Feb 17 – Candice Hopkins
Feb 24 – Lucia Pietrioiusti
Mar 3 – Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev
Mar 10 [Break]
Mar 17 – Andrea Giunta
Mar 24 – Yuko Hasegawa
Mar 31 – Miguel López
Apr 7 – José Roca
Apr 14 – Gabi Ngcobo
Apr 21 – Hoor Al Qasimi
Apr 28 – Rujeko Hockley
May 5 – Ruangrupa