- The XIV FEMSA Biennial will take place in the cities of Morelia and Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, from February 2020 to February 2021.
- Twenty-four projects by local, national, and international artists will participate, as well as five commissioned curators from Michoacán.
- As part of the Biennial, a showcase of the FEMSA Collection will be held in Michoacán for the first time.
- The program of activities will span a 12-month period.
Mexico City, Mexico. January 14, 2020.– After the successful conclusion of the XIII FEMSA Biennial in Zacatecas, the FEMSA Biennial is solidifying its identity as a traveling platform and launching its fourteenth edition. Titled Inestimable Chance, this edition will be held in the cities of Morelia and Pátzcuaro, in the state of Michoacán, from February 2020 to February 2021.
Inestimable Chance revisits the modern heritage of Morelia and Pátzcuaro, primarily their public art, in the form of murals painted by prominent national and international artists such as Juan O’Gorman, Grace and Marion Greenwood, Alfredo Zalce, and Philip Guston.
These works catalyze our exploration of the three research topics that define the Biennial’s programs: realisms, artistic integration, and traditional artistic practices. In this way, the historical reference point of muralism allows us to evaluate and renovate certain artistic attitudes considered essential at the time. For example, the updating of tradition and history, the radical principle of artistic experimentation, fraternal internationalism, free association among friends and creative colleagues, and the concept of chance: the points of convergence among the subjective and the objective, individual ideals and the events of social and material life. This final notion inspired the title for the latest FEMSA Biennial.
The FEMSA Foundation, created in 2008, seeks to create a positive impact on people and communities through sustainability-oriented social investment projects. They do so by focusing on three strategic areas: promoting the efficient management of resources for sustainable development, fostering holistic early childhood development, and sharing Latin American art and culture through the FEMSA Cultural Program, which works with two important initiatives: the FEMSA Collection and the FEMSA Biennial.
With support from the Ministry of Culture, the Michoacán State Ministry of Culture, the municipal governments of Morelia and Pátzcuaro, and the regional representatives of FEMSA companies and other private organizations, the activities of the FEMSA Biennial will be presented in different venues across Morelia, Pátzcuaro, and other cities. Moreover, to foment the participation of institutions, artists, and local producers, as well as guest experts and artists, the XIV FEMSA Biennial will offer four closely related programs:
Public Program
For all audiences. This program will take place periodically from February 2020 to February 2021, through talks, workshops, and different activities with distinguished experts and artists in Morelia, Pátzcuaro, and Mexico City. These events will address the key topics of the current FEMSA Biennial: realisms, artistic integration, and traditional artistic practices.
Some of the participants are: Dawn Ades (England), Dafne Cruz Porchini (Mexico City, Mexico), Rita Eder (Mexico City, Mexico), Anna Indych-López (United States), Graciela Speranza (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Mireida Velázquez (Mexico).
Educational Program
For audiences interested in how exhibitions work, such as students, artists, and museum and gallery employees. This program will take place periodically from February 2020 to February 2021 in Pátzcuaro and Morelia, with a series of activities—a cross between lectures and round-table discussions—with renowned national and international experts. Participation will be managed through open calls.
Some of the participants are: Ana Bidart (Montevideo, Uruguay), Giacomo Castagnola (Lima, Peru), Pedro Ceñal (Mexico City, Mexico), Esperanza Díaz de León (Guatemala City, Guatemala), Paula Duarte (Bogotá, Colombia), Verónica Gerber Bicecci ( Mexico City, Mexico), Maya Juracán (Guatemala City, Guatemala), Willy Kautz (São Paulo, Brazil), Catalina Lozano (Bogotá, Colombia), Elva Peniche (Mexico City, Mexico), Sandra Sánchez, (Mexico City, Mexico), Alfonso Santiago (Mexico City, Mexico), Sara Uribe (Querétaro, Mexico), Bruma Laboratorio (Alejandra R. Bolaños and Abril Hernández, Xalapa, Mexico), La Ruidosa Oficina (Mariela Richmond, Marga Siqueira and Catalina Tenorio, San José, Costa Rica) and Tiempo Compartido (Citlali Córdova, Claudia Córdova, Uriel Márquez and Fernando Salcedo, Zacatecas, Mexico).
Curatorial Program
For all audiences. This program will take place from October 2020 to February 2021, with a series of exhibitions in many different museums and independent spaces in Pátzcuaro and Morelia. It will include pieces from the FEMSA Collection, as well as 24 commissioned projects by national and international artists and five commissioned exhibitions by local curators.
• Commissioned Artists
Carlos Amorales (Mexico City, Mexico) | Patricia Belli (Managua, Nicaragua) | Roxana Cervantes (Apatzingán, Michoacán, Mexico) | Livia Corona (Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico) | Olmo Cuña (Vigo, Spain) | Débora Delmar (Mexico City, Mexico) | Rodolfo Díaz Cervantes (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico) | Carlos Fernández (San José, Costa Rica) | Adela Goldbard (Mexico City, Mexico) | Sergio Gutiérrez (Oaxaca, Mexico) | Circe Irasema (Mexico City, Mexico) | Madeline Jiménez Santil (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) | Nadia Lartigue y Juan Francisco Maldonado (Mexico City, Mexico) | Israel Martínez (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico) | Leo Marz (Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico) | Nuria Montiel (Mexico City, Mexico) | Fernando Palma (Mexico City, Mexico) | Ana Pellicer (Mexico City, Mexico) | Gabriel Rico (Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico) | Artemio Rodríguez (Tacámbaro, Michoacán, Mexico) | Marco Rountree (Mexico City, Mexico) | Adán Vallecillo (Danlí, Honduras) | Inés Verdugo (Guatemala City, Guatemala) | Dick Verdult (Eindhoven, the Netherlands)
• Curatorial Commissions
Erandi Ávalos (Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico) | Francisco Huaroco (Cherán, Michoacán, Mexico) | Jesús Jiménez (Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico) | Ángel Pahuamba (Cherán, Michoacán, Mexico) | Diego Rodríguez (Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico)
Publishing Program
In parallel, three publications will be produced in conjunction with the programs mentioned above: a catalogue of the Curatorial Program, a record of the Public Program, and a compilation manual of the Educational Program.
The XIV FEMSA Biennial will take place in Morelia and Pátzcuaro from February 2020 to February 2021. It will be accompanied by a program of activities to spotlight the FEMSA Biennial as a traveling art platform that lends visibility to local work and links it to global agents through a new model in Mexico.
The XIV edition of the FEMSA Biennial is carried out thanks to the support of Coca-Cola FEMSA and OXXO.
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About FEMSA
FEMSA is a company that creates economic and social value through businesses and institutions and aspires to be the best employer of and neighbor to the companies where it has a presence. It participates in the retail industry through FEMSA Comercio, comprising a Proximity Division that includes OXXO, a small-format store chain; a Health Division, comprising pharmacies and related activities; and a Fuel Division, which operates the OXXO GAS chain of service stations. In the beverage industry, it participates by operating Coca-Cola FEMSA, a public bottler of Coca-Cola products; and in the beer industry as a shareholder of HEINEKEN, a brewer with a presence in over 70 countries. In addition, through the FEMSA Strategic Businesses unit, it offers logistics services, point-of-sale refrigeration solutions, and plastics solutions to FEMSA companies and third-party clients. Through its Business Units, FEMSA employs approximately 300,000 people in 13 countries. FEMSA is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability MILA Pacific alliance, the FTSE4Good Emerging Index, and the Mexican Stock Exchange Sustainability Index, among other indices that evaluate its sustainability performance.
About the FEMSA Foundation
At the FEMSA Foundation, we strive to create a positive impact on people and communities through sustainability-oriented social investment projects. We endeavor to build a better future for everyone by working in three strategic areas: promoting the efficient management of resources for sustainable development, fostering holistic early childhood development, and spreading Latin American art and culture through the FEMSA Collection and the FEMSA Biennial. For more information, visit us at www.fundacionfemsa.org or follow us on Facebook (/FundacionFEMSA) and Twitter (@FundacionFEMSA).
About the FEMSA Biennial
The FEMSA Biennial is an art platform held in a different city for each edition. Founded in 1992, it seeks to recognize, strengthen, stimulate, and disseminate artistic creation in Mexico. Over its years of experience, the FEMSA Biennial has come to be known as an important agent of art and culture in the country, and has gained more and more prestige on the international level. The FEMSA Biennial is part of the FEMSA Foundation, which creates a positive impact on people and communities through sustainability-oriented social investment projects.
