Xicanx: Dreamers + Changemakers explores themes of community, borderlands, activism, home, identity, and the importance of public murals. On view at Contemporary at Blue Star in San Antonio through October 6, 2024.
Xicanx: Dreamers + Changemakers | Soñadores + creadores del cambio
June 7–October 6, 2024
Contemporary at Blue Star, San Antonio
Over 300 years ago, Spain claimed territories in the New World. Yanaguana, or “Land of the Spirit Waters,” was one of those territories. Today, we call it San Antonio. The Spanish dispatched missionaries to colonize the native peoples and founded missions, most famously, Misión San Antonio de Valero or the Alamo. Texas, then a part of Mexico, would later gain its independence from Spain, only to be forcibly taken from Mexico by the United States thirty years later.
Today, people of Mexican origin make up a significant amount of the population in San Antonio and Texas. It is these folks that make up the group of artists in the landmark exhibition Xicanx: Dreamers + Changemakers | Soñadores + creadores del cambio. Of Mexican American origin, they self-identify as Xicanx, a term that crosses national borders and gender lines to encompass a multi-generational experience.
This exhibition uses the term Xicanx to refer to Chicano, Chicana, and Chicanx. The term reflects those who fought for and claim this designation and incorporates the “X” from the Spanish transcription of the Nahuatl sound “ch.” Nahuatl is one of the major Indigenous languages in Mexico. The “x” on the end signals gender-neutral and non-binary inclusivity.
San Antonio and South Texas played a significant role in the fight for social justice for Mexican Americans, such as the Chicano Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and ’70s known as El Movimiento. From fighting for labor rights to equality for students, the work of San Antonio activists and artists played a crucial role in El Movimiento.
Some of the artists in Xicanx: Dreamers + Changemakers began their work as part of El Movimiento. Much of the artwork created during this time sought to do the very things that this exhibition does: educate about the social inequity of Xicanx peoples, their history, and the importance of their culture. Other artists define themselves through their Indigenous roots, and a younger generation expands the idea of Xicanx art while continuing the work of addressing personal, social, and political issues of today. The exhibition explores themes of community, borderlands, activism, home, identity, and the importance of public murals.
Exhibiting artists include Celia Álvarez Muñoz, Richard “Ricky” Armendaríz, Judith F. Baca, Rolando Briseño, Sarah Castillo, Celeste De Luna, Alejandro Diaz, Jose Esquivel, Ana Fernandez, Carlos Frésquez, Roberto Jose Gonzalez, Ana Laura Hernández, Ester Hernandez, Luis Jiménez, Dennis Martinez, César A. Martínez, Delilah Montoya, Julio César Morales, Oree Originol, Alfred J. Quiroz, Chuck Ramirez, Juan Miguel Ramos, Al Rendon, Moises Salazar, Ana Lilia Salinas, Raul Servin, Rudy Treviño, John Valadez, Luis Valderas, Linda Vallejo, Kathy Vargas, Debora Kuetzpal Vasquez, and Davíd Zamora Casas.
The exhibition will be accompanied by public programs and a Xicanx Month symposium in August 2024. Visit the Contemporary’s events calendar for upcoming programs. To learn more, visit the Xicanx website—part catalogue, part archive, part resource center.
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