Counter-Archives to the Narco-City is a curatorial project on art and human rights, co-curated by Tatiana Reinoza and Luis Vargas-Santiago, that offers alternative views to the media spectacle of narco-violence in the Americas.
Hosted at both the Snite Museum of Art and the Notre Dame Center for Art & Culture, the first edition of this ongoing project features the work of visual artists Adriana Corral and Alma Leiva and focuses on the counter-archives of two cities: Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and San Pedro Sula, Honduras. These are two of the deadliest cities in the world, as well as industrial centers and migration points with thriving narco-economies that corrupt their political structures and terrorize everyday life. Rather than repeating spectacular images of violent public crimes, this exhibition aims to give voice to those who live intimately with violence in contemporary Latin America and document everyday forms of resistance against the societal structures that sustain the chaos.
The Counter-Archives to the Narco City exhibition at the Snite Museum will include, Impunidad, Circlo Vicioso, 2015 and the installation, Within the Ashes, 2013, both by Adriana Corral, along with nine photographs by Alma Leiva from her series Celdas (2009–15).
The exhibition will be from August 16 through December 13, 2015. In October 2015, the artists will return to create a site-specific installation at the Notre Dame Center for Arts & Culture for their annual Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead program.
A public reception and opportunity to meet the artists and co-curators will be held at the Snite Museum of Art from 4–6 p.m. on Thursday, October 8, 2015.
A series of presentations, dialogues, and workshops during the semester will provide students, faculty, and the general viewing audience opportunities for insight, education, and reflection about the persistence of human rights violations and the role of art in speaking out for social justice.
This exhibition and its associated bilingual exhibition catalogue are sponsored by the Snite Museum of Art, the Notre Dame Center for Arts & Culture, the Institute for Latino Studies, the National Association for Latino Arts and Culture, and Southwest Airlines.
For additional information including interviews, biographies, audiovisual materials, visit counterarchives.org.