Three American Artists Participate in Embassy Supported Exhibition
October 17, 2007

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Thanks to the support of the U.S. Embassy and the Cultural Center of Spain (CCE, for its acronym in Spanish), the exhibition “Here and Now: Transculture”, will turn the CCE upside down in November. Thirteen contemporary artists- American and Salvadoran- will present their particular visions of trans-culturization through performances, video art and montage.

Starting on November 6, all the public spaces of the CCE will have something to offer in a visit that promises to be vibrant and will include even the bathroom! A traditional “combo” (group of three to four musicians who perform traditional songs live, usually at the beach) will play a repertoire of American pop music, and at the same time a montage with videos will show reflections on gangs, migration, violence and remittances, among other topics.

This smorgasbord of activities uses language that ranges between the lyrical and the direct: as visual poems or as punches in the stomach. The works are a sample of the inevitable changes that arise from the contact –and sometimes clash—between two cultures: American and Salvadoran.

The U.S. Embassy is providing funding for the centerpiece of the exhibition: the work of four artists based in New York – a city identified as the cradle of the most innovative expressions of contemporary art. Kalup Linzy, Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz, Iván Navarro y Nicolás Dumit-Estévez will show us their work which explores the changes of individuals according to their environment or because of social pressures. The artists will also offer workshops for their Salvadoran counterparts.

The exhibition was curated by Juan Sánchez, director of the Cultural Center of Spain; Rebeca Dávila a former Fulbright grantee and Art Administrator; Alanna Lockward  an independent Dominican curator and Alanna Heiss, a curator from PS1 Contemporary Arts Center --an affiliate of the New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)--, whose stay in El Salvador is being sponsored by the U.S. Embassy as well.

The invitation is open for all to enjoy a parade of personalities in which Salvadoran folk characters Ciguanaba and Cipitío share the stage with Sponge Bob and Spiderman, or to reflect on the reading of letters from a Salvadoran convict in the States to his family in El Salvador.