This talk focuses on the representation of lived experiences of women in contemporary Mexican society: from demands for women’s rights to the creation of spaces for women printmakers. I situate Oaxacan contemporary printmaking within wider Mexican art history, from the printed images of the Mexican Revolution to the establishment of Taller de Grafica Popular, as well as the social and cultural history of the state, such as the uprisings in Oaxaca in 2006. I will discuss four studios in Oaxaca: (Armarte, Hoja Santa, La Productora Gráfica del Bosque and Subterráneos). Each use art as a tool for resistance: both in their subject matter, but also in the physical spaces they have created in the city, a political act in and of itself.

Presenter: Dr Laurie (Jane) Dalton is the director/curator of the Acadia University Art Gallery and an adjunct professor in Acadia’s Department of History & Classics. She has curated over 70 exhibitions, most recently: “Beyond La Llorona: Women & Resistance in Oaxacan Printmaking.” Dalton’s research interests lie in visual culture, museums and exhibition history, in particular how ‘meaning’ is a process of displays, didactics, and audience exchange. Her upcoming research project in Oaxaca examines the cultural symbol of the shopping cart.