The Vienna-based art foundation, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21), has teamed up with the Museo de Arte de Zapopan (MAZ) to present “Atopia, migración, legado y ausencia de lugar,” a collection of 25 works, including two installations, that “focuses on the practices and representations of the ways in which artists have accessed, rehearsed, participated in and negotiated concepts of ‘place’ or ‘place of origin,’ their past, heritage, and cultural ambiguities, with all the dilemmas such notions provoke.”
The 19 participating artists include two Mexicans and several U.S. artists. One of them is Brad Kahlhamer, whose impressive “Bowery nation” installation at the exhibit’s entrance features 100 katsina-like dolls and 22 birds fashioned from feathers, the artist’s hair, bone, metal, rubber, paint, wood, wire and other materials gathered in Kahlhamer’s urban neighborhood on New York’s Lower East Side Bowery.
Born in Tucson, Arizona, of American Indian heritage, Kahlhamer says the installation represents what he calls his “third place,” the fusion of his personal identities and mythologies.
Founded in 2002 by Francesca von Habsburg, TBA21 represents the fourth generation of the Thyssen family’s commitment to the arts. The foundation says it is “dedicated primarily to the commissioning and dissemination of ambitious, experimental, and unconventional projects that defy traditional categorizations.”
Atopia is TBA21’s first collaboration with a Mexican gallery.
MAZ (Andador 20 de Noviembre 166, Zapopan Centro) is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (open until 10 p.m. on Thursdays). Closed on Mondays. Call (33) 3818-2575 for information.
English conversation
Mexicans looking to improve their English speaking skills can take advantage of the conversation classes offered at the American Society (Amsoc) each Saturday afternoon.
Amsoc member Frank Hanna has been organizing the groups for more than two years.
The majority of the participants are young professionals aged between 20 and 35, Hanna says. Weekly attendance fluctuates between 12 and 20.
There is no charge for Amsoc members (yearly subscriptions cost 300 pesos), while a nominal donation of 20 pesos per class is requested for non-members.
The students usually pick the conversation themes, although Hanna and fellow teacher Fred Rodriguez sometimes make suggestions. The students often like to talk about travel and the differences in customs and traditions between Mexico and other countries, Hanna says.
There is no need to register, says Hanna. Just turn up on Saturdays from 2 to 4 p.m. Members can withdraw books from the Amsoc library at this time.
Amsoc is at Avenida San Francisco 3332, Colonia Chapalita. For more information call 3122-4425.
Doubling up
Unfortunately, the Amsoc Mother’s Day luncheon was canceled earlier this month due to insufficient reservations. The society has decided to celebrate both moms and pops at a single lunch to be held on Thursday, June 13.
The menu will feature turkey loaf with scalloped potatoes and salad, with brownie strawberry shortcake for dessert. There will be a 50-50 raffle with great prizes (some left over from Mother’s Day!).
Casa Huichol
Guadalajara’s Casa Huichol, a refuge for members of the Wixarika indigenous people who are obliged to travel to the city for medical treatment, hosts another kermess (fete) on Sunday, May 18, from noon to 8 p.m.
There will an exhibit of Wixarika art, and indigenous crafts will be on sale at discount prices. As well as music and plenty of food and refreshments, documentary films on the Wixarika culture will be screened.
The Casa Huichol is at Beatriz Hernandez 1354, Colonia Zoquipan, Zapopan.
Vegan food
A vegan food sale is held Sunday, May 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bogota 2818, Colonia Providencia. On sale will be lentil, oat and tofu hamburgers; chocolate and carrot cake; cheesecake; Spanish omelette; nachos; nuggets and vegan cheeses.
Serenades
Visitors to downtown Guadalajara should not forget that early evening serenades take place in the bandstand in the Plaza de Armas facing the Palacio de Gobierno.
The Guadalajara Municipal Band directed by Carlos Ramírez Loeza plays for around an hour each Tuesday beginning 6:30 p.m.
On Wednesdays and Fridays at 6 p.m. it’s the turn of the members of the Orquesta Tipica de Guadalajara, who perform sones, polkas, huapangos, boleros, waltzes and other melodic interpretations.
Thursdays and Sundays see the Jalisco State Band take center stage. Their repertoire is more extensive than the other two bands, and includes military marches, operatic arias and even symphonic overtures and modern tunes.
You can enjoy these free, life-enriching musical interludes while seated on a comfortable park bench, while people watching and taking in the sights and sounds of Guadalajara’s still attractive historic center.
Papirolas
The Papirolas creative youth festival that takes place at Expo Guadalajara from Wednesday, May 21 to Sunday, May 25 seeks to “contribute to young persons’ cultural, creative, educational, intellectual, physical and humanistic development.”
Kids having fun is the heartbeat of the event, which started in 1995 as an offshoot of the International Book Fair (FIL).
One of the driving forces of Papirolas is the large number of creative workshops for children of all ages. There are pavilions for children aged from 3 to 6, from 7 to 9, from 10 to 12 and from 13 to 18. The workshops include plastic arts, music, dance, theater and more.
School heads and teachers are encouraged to take advantage of the special hours reserved for school classes from pre-school through high school (prepa) from 9 a.m. on weekdays. Call (33) 3055-5120 for details and to make reservations. Registration closes on May 9.
Hours for the general public are 1 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Entry costs 40 pesos for three years and up.