Bringing together established and emerging Latinx artists, the Michael C. Carlos Museum is showcasing a dynamic exhibition of Latinx photography in You Belong Here: Place, People, and Purpose in Latinx Photography.
This traveling exhibition was organized by Aperture, a not-for-profit publisher bringing photography to audiences around the world. Established in 1952, Aperture puts out a quarterly magazine, books, exhibitions, digital platforms, public programs, and limited edition prints.
You Belong Here was curated by Pilar Tompkins Rivas, Chief Curator and Deputy Director of Curatorial and Collections at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. “Collectively, their images cast a greater net for the multiple ways of seeing Latinx people, creating a visual archive whose edges are yet to be defined,” said Rivas when discussing this exhibit in the Latinx issue of Aperture magazine.
“As the canons of art and history must be pushed to meet the world we live in, so too must the systems that support its visual documentation–from academia, to museums, to the market, and beyond,” Rivas continued.
This exhibition features works by artists Laura Aguilar, Genesis Báez, William Camargo, Sofía Córdova, Perla de Leon, Tarrah Krajnak, Hiram Maristany, Joiri Minaya, Steven Molina Contreras, Star Montana, Eddie Quiñones, Reynaldo Rivera, Guadalupe Rosales, Gabriela Ruiz, Bibs Moreno, and John M. Valadez.
Visitors can expect to see photography that inspires conversations about visibility, identity, and mounting a resistance to erasure of culture. These works explore the multifaceted experiences of life in America for Latinx artists and deal with themes of political resistance, family, community, fashion, culture, and finding a sense of belonging.
The Michael C. Carlos Museum has also presented a robust array of corresponding events including an artist talk, curator talk, video and sound installation, photographer panel discussion, dance performances, and a family bilingual day.
“As an academic museum, the Carlos is charged with pushing and challenging canon in just this way—to meet the world we inhabit, to support those who are under-represented in museums and under-recognized in art historical canon,” said Curator of Works on Paper Andi McKenzie, who served as site curator for the exhibition.
You Belong Here: Place, People, and Purpose in Latinx Photography will open on Sat., Sept. 9 and will remain on view through Dec. 3, 2023.