On Saturday, February 4th FOFA and the Oaxacan folk art museum MEAPO inaugurated a lively exhibition, “Finding Hope Through Art/Encontrando esperanza a través del arte.” This was our sixth young artist exhibition, featuring 63 winning pieces from the competition that took place in August, 2022. This celebratory event included the presentation of a 100-page full-color exhibition catalog introducing each artist and their winning piece, as well as background information about the piece and contact information to help potential clients locate the artist.

Attendance was more robust than ever. An estimated 350 people arrived for the festivities, including the winning artists and their families and members of the ex-patriot community, along with folk art-loving tourists who were in Oaxaca at the time. FOFA offered a bus shuttle service from the center of town to facilitate the transport of over 40 people who are not regular visitors to the museum.

Following speeches by Maestro Carlomagno Pedro Martinez (Director of MEAPO), Arden Rothstein (President of FOFA), Fernando Pedro Fabián (Head of Planning, Logistics and Dissemination for MEAPO), Maestra Carmen Sánchez Parada (Director of Conservation and Cultural Dissemination of the Oaxaca State Secretary of Culture and Art), and Fernando Peguero (Participant in all FOFA young artist competitions), all winning artists were called up to the dais to receive copies of the catalog intended to help them promote their work.

FOFA sponsored two new initiatives. The first was a tianguis (folk art market) that was held prior to and following the event in which winners were given the opportunity to sell their artwork.

Second, in addition to displaying the 63 winning works of art, a portion of the exhibition showcased the outstanding impact which FOFA’s five pandemic-era “remote sales” workshops had. These workshops, designed and carried out on Zoom by instructors Lorena de la Piedra and Diego Morales Toledo, emphasized techniques for successfully capturing artwork photographically, effectively using social media, providing excellent customer service to clients, and paying careful attention to safe, aesthetic packing and shipping. The exhibition displays how four artesanos made outstanding use of this educational experience. FOFA board member William Scanlan, Jr. and his wife Cecil Scanlan generously funded these workshops from June, 2020 into early 2022. In view of Cecil’s passing in 2021, this part of the exhibition and catalog were dedicated to her memory.

If you are interested in being a tutor, write to us at [email protected]. We may be able to partner you with a Oaxacan artist.