Monterrey, Nuevo León, November 16th 2016.- In the frame of FEMSA’s XII Biennial themed “Poetics of Decrease. How to live better with less?”, the company announced its curatorial program’s Public Program, made up of free conferences by recognized curators on the evolution of biennials in the last decades, with an emphasis on Latin American case studies.
This edition’s Curatorial Program is made up of three platforms: Residence, Exhibition and Public Program. The latter, titled “Biennials!… How and For Whom?”, began on November 7th and will conclude on February 8th 2017 and will take place in different venues, such as Lugar Común (a house located in the center of Monterrey), as well as in CONARTE’s cultural spaces the Adolfo Prieto School, the Generadores Room and the Theater of the Center of the Arts, all of which are inside Fundidora Park.
“This Public Program’s intention is to reflect on the Biennials. The various events will review Latin American case studies such as the Havana, Sao Paulo, Porto Alegre and Cuenca Biennials, bringing to light the challenges behind the continuous reinvention of this exhibition format. We hope the Monterrey community gets involved with this platform”, said FEMSA’s XII Biennial Curatorial Program’s Artistic Director, Willy Kautz.
“We invite everyone to participate in FEMSA’s XII Biennial’s Public Program, where they’ll be able to enjoy free lectures and conferences in which various curatorial formats and speeches, as well as the educational operations that shape the public vocation of Biennials will be reviewed”, said FEMSA’s Curatorial Program Manager, Rosa María Rodríguez.
The Public Program’s agenda is distributed as follows:
“Policies of Time and Matter” is a workshop given by Damián Ontiveros, a plastic artist that has worked with migration matters for some of his works. The workshop will take place on November 28th and December 5th on Lugar Común, located at Privada Liendo 709, Colonia Obispado, from 19:00hrs to 22:00hrs. Quota is limited, so early registration via email (lugarcomun@femsa.com.mx) is necessary.
David Miranda, who works as curator for El Eco Experimental Museum will be in charge of the workshop ‘Totem’ – art for others – which will also be held at the Lugar Común facilities from November 15th to November 18th from 19:00hrs to 22:00 hrs. and on November 19th from 10:00hrs to 13:00hrs. Quota is limited, so early registration via email (lugarcomun@femsa.com.mx) is necessary.
Paola Santoscoy, who has served as curator in different institutions such as the Carrillo Gil Art Museum and the Tamayo Museum of Contemporary Art, will give a lecture on the 8th Mercosur Biennial (Casa M) at the Adolfo Prieto School, located in the interior of the Fundidora Park, on November 16th at 19:30hrs.
Daniel Lara Ballesteros, who won the Honorable Mention at FEMSA ‘s V Biennial, will activate the work The Primordial Estate, located at the Generadores Room at Fundidora Park on November 20th and 27th at 18:00hrs. This artist has focused his career on both visual and sound proposals, supporting his works with means such as machines and music to develop his creations.
FEMSA’s XII Biennial’s Public Program will come to an end with two master lectures. The first one is Studies on Happiness, presented by Alfredo Jaar, recognized by his installations, in which he mixes diverse disciplines such as arquitecture, photography and theater. The presentation will be held on January 26th, 2017 at 19:30hrs, at the Theater of the Center of the Arts in Monterrey, Nuevo León. The second lecture will be in charge of Gerardo Mosquera, who was one of the I Havana Biennial’s organizers and that has also served as curator in more than 70 countries. Mosquera will speak about the History of the Havana Biennial on February 8th, 2017 at 19:30hrs, also at the Theater of the Center of the Arts facilities.
FEMSA’s XII Biennial seeks to reach the greatest number of people possible and thus fulfill its mission of promoting and disseminating artistic creation in Mexico as part of the mission that FEMSA has had since its inception: to generate economic, social and environmental value.
On FEMSA
FEMSA is a leading company participating in the beverage industry with Coca-Cola FEMSA, the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola products in the world; Estrella Azul, one of the leading companies in the dairy segment in Panama; and in the beer industry, through its ownership of the second largest equity stake of Heineken, one of the worlds leading brewers with operations in over 70 countries. FEMSA participates in the retail sector with FEMSA Comercio, which operates various small-format chain stores including OXXO; a Fuels Division operating the OXXO GAS service stations chain; and a Health Division that includes pharmacies and related operations. In addition, through FEMSA Negocios Estratégicos, the company offers logistic services, point-of-sales cooling solutions and plastic solutions for FEMSA’s companies and external customers.
On FEMSA’s Biennial
FEMSA Biennial is a visual arts contest instituted in 1992 with the purpose of recognizing, strengthening, stimulating and diffusing artistic creation in Mexico. Its consolidation throughout the years has positioned it as the most important visual arts contests in the country, acquiring more and more prestige at an international level.