Latino Art Now 2019! Conference Reflection
Photo by Tatiana Reinoza. Courtesy of author.
I feel very strongly about Latinx arts as a space for healing and survival. When Latino Art Now crossed my radar, a national conference dedicated to the current state of Latinx art, it piqued my interest on various levels. For full disclosure, I’m a Latinx artist, writer, and arts administrator whose agency sponsored Latino Art Now. The conference met at the intersection of my professional, creative, and personal identities. I attended with the knowledge that I was not the intended audience because I am not an academic. However, I was genuinely interested in the topics all as well as supporting my friends who were presenting. Although I was invigorated that a national level discourse on Latinx art was taking place in my hometown, I left wanting more.
Maybe it was the erasure of marginalized voices within the Latinx identity. Maybe it was the common conflating of Latino and Latinx when these terms are not interchangeable. I wanted more than what the conference was offering. I wanted critical analysis to make room for improvement. I wanted gender inclusivity and multigenerational collaboration. I wanted one active hashtag to continue the conversation instead of 3 underutilized official hashtags with sporadic activity (#LatinoArtNow! #LAN2019 #LANHouston).
Zines and Publishing panel with Daisy Salinas, Suzy Gonzalez, Maribel Falcón, Marisa del Toro, Claudia Zapata and Isabel Ann Castro. Courtesy of author.
Image by Tatiana Reinoza. Courtesy of author.
The brilliance of the audience members’ insightful questions as well the presenters on the panel showcases the need for more spaces where Latinx arts is studied, researched, presented and shared. Spaces that are accessible to the public whose lives are part of these narratives/dissertations. This exchange and talent couldn’t possibly be encapsulated in one weekend. One space couldn’t possibly encompass all the multitudes of unpacking the concept of identity or accurately surveying the arts landscape.
Still the conference served as a tool of commiseration and lively conversations between attendees. We found solace with the conversations we had with each other, dashed with a sense of relief that “I’m not the only one”. To see each other in the same room was the biggest highlight of the weekend. Artists and academics work in silos. To have an event that brings people from all corners of the country was a tremendous endeavor through the labor of many countless people. The high level of interest and resources dedicated to this momentum of Spring of Latino Arts is quite inspiring. Houston rarely experiences change of seasons (between humid/hot and extra humid/hot) but can this spring last all year? Ojalá.
Yeiry Guevara is a writer, translator and multimedia artist. Her art has been exhibited in galleries in New York and Texas. Her writing can also be found in bookstores and libraries across the country. Yeiry received her Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration with a dual concentration in Finance and International Business with a minor in Latin American Studies from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY. Presently, Yeiry is the newest Grants Manager for Houston Arts Alliance.