Mestizaje: Intermix-Remix

The M is excited to announce Mestizaje: Intermix-Remix, an exhibition co-presented with Grupo Soap del Corazón, which features eight Latinx artists (identifying as Chicano, Chilean, Colombian, Mixteco, Mexican, and Mexican-American) as they explore what it means to claim a mixed-race identity consisting of both Indigenous and European descent.  

The concept of mestizo (having Spanish-Indigenous ancestry) originated in the sixteenth century as part of a racial designation system created by Spanish and Portuguese colonizers in what is now considered Latin America. Today, the violent and lasting impacts of colonization can be difficult to fully comprehend. 

Without seeking definitive conclusions or definitions, artists Marcela Rodríguez Aguilar, María José Castillo, Luis Fitch, Bobby Marines, Dougie Padilla, Maria Cristina Tavera, Xavier Tavera, and Vlocke Negro explore questions of ancestry and identity. 

This exhibition, on view in the M’s public-facing windows and skyway entrance, is the first iteration of a long-term collaboration between the M and the art collective Grupo Soap del Corazón (art that cleanses the heart). Grupo Soap has been centering artistic expression of Latinidad in the Midwest for more than twenty years. The collective advances the work of local, national, and international Latino/a/x artists with the intention of inspiring political, economic, and racial justice through the doorways of art. Curated by Dougie Padilla and Xavier Tavera, founders of the artist collective Grupo Soap del Corazón. 

Virtual Kickoff Event March 31st 6PM via Zoom
Join Dougie Padilla, Xavier Tavera, and Maria Cristina Tavera for a conversation exploring the history of the art collective Grupo Soap del Corazón. RSVP required

Image: Xavier Tavera, El Duelo/The Duel, 2021