LAMAS Latin American Media Arts Symposium – Oct 4-7, 2023 @ Friends House, 60 Lowther Ave, Toronto.

I am excited to participate in the first edition of the Latin American Media Arts Symposium (LAMAS) in Toronto along with a wonderful group of artists, scholars and community organizers.

Over the course of 4 days, we will gather with a group of curious and thoughtful artists, filmmakers, critics, and academics engaging with Latin American* artistic production in Canada. We will be having panel discussions, round tables, performances, and special collaborations with local arts organizations. Some of the questions we will be tackling are: how are spaces and institutions supporting the visibility of Latin American media arts and film in Canada? What challenges and opportunities arise from translations and mistranslations? How are identities and bodies transformed as a new notion of home is built? How can we move forward through local and transnational collaboration?

All panels will be open to the public, and entrance will be free! Please register in advance.

https://www.alucinefestival.com/lamas-2023-about

https://www.eventbrite.ca/o/latin-american-media-arts-symposium-2023-71021171353

Saturday, October 7, 2023

Political Praxes of Memory: Diaspora Media Art Archives

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Panel

With speakers Gabriela Aceves Sepúlveda, Zaira Zarza, and Sarah Shamash.

Grounded in diverse expertise—Sepúlveda as a media artist and historian, Shamash as a scholar and filmmaker, and Zarza as an art historian and curator—the speakers navigate the nuanced interplay of memory, feminist strategies, and cultural narratives, and delve into Latin American diaspora media art archives. Drawing inspiration from methodologies like the feminist lens, collaborative research-creation, and archival intervention, they venture into probing questions: whose narratives remain untold within the Canadian context, and how can migrant archives fill in those gaps? How do gendered perspectives delineate the contours of media art histories? How can curatorial, archival, and pedagogical practices reshape cultural landscapes? With an unwavering commitment to fostering dialogues on identity, diaspora, and artistic expression, Aceves Sepúlveda, Shamash, and Zarza forge pragmatic strategies that pave a path for critical engagement with Latin American diaspora media art archives, forging connections between past, present, and future narratives.