YOUNG OAXACAN ARTISTS GAIN INSIGHTS INTO THEIR CULTURAL ROOTS

 FROM ART HISTORY COURSE SPONSORED BY FOFA

A group of Oaxacan artesanos who recently won prizes and honorable mentions at FOFA’s 6^th juried competition for young folk artists has just completed a course exploring the cultural history of Oaxaca. Titled “Elements of the Iconography of the Original Peoples of Oaxaca and their Symbolism,” the three-month course combined lectures that took place at MEAPO (The Oaxaca State Museum of Popular Art) and field trips to important archeological sites and arts institutions in and near Oaxaca city.

From its beginnings in 2008, a cornerstone of FOFA’s mission has been offering educational opportunities to new generations of Oaxacan folk artists. In addition to cultural history, local experts in Oaxaca have taught workshops and classes in design concepts, social media marketing, and spoken English, among various subjects.

Students attend lecture given by instructor Juan de Dios Gómez about the symbolism of ancient artifacts discovered at Monte Albán.

Students and their instructor visit the site of Monte Albán, on the outskirts of Oaxaca city.

The instructor who led the course is Juan de Dios Gómez, a visual artist and anthropologist who has studied and written about the great cultures of Mexico. He developed the syllabus, gave the lectures and accompanied the students on their field study trips, which included visits to Mitla (an ancient site sacred to Zapotec and, later, Mixtec peoples); Monte Albán (the preeminent center of Zapotec culture for 1,000+ years ); the Museum of Textiles (home to both historic and contemporary art from the region); and the museum at Santo Domingo church (housing a significant collection of artworks from pre-Hispanic societies through the colonial era).

The group visiting Mitla, a sacred site for early Zapotec, and later, Mixtec peoples. The architectural design (including distinctive greca patterns above and to the left of the entranceway) is attributed to the Mixtecs.

The class visiting the Textile Museum in Oaxaca city.

Visiting the museum at Santo Domingo.

This marks the third time FOFA has offered the cultural history course, and the first time it’s been available to students since the global pandemic. The majority of young artists who’ve participated report that they’ve gained a deeper understanding of their ancestral heritage than they had before taking it.

A sampling of comments from this year’s participants includes: … “the knowledge acquired was very interesting and even very surprising” … “I liked the topics that talked about the meaning of the symbols that are in the codices and ceramics because symbology is a topic that goes hand in hand with decorated figures” … “I especially liked {the lectures titled} ‘traditional technologies of textiles and feathers’ and ‘the art and language of textiles’ because my family and I are dedicated to creating woolen textiles” … “I like the way we were taught; it’s fluid and interactive, and we were able to express our ideas and questions.”

Graduation ceremony at MEAPO (the Oaxaca State Museum of Popular Art). Students and staff flank maestro Carlomagno Pedro Martinez (director of MEAPO, in the middle wearing gray shirt) and standing next to him, Gina Barrionuevo (FOFA’s Oaxaca-based administrator).

Through the years, FOFA’s education courses have been developed collaboratively with local subject experts in Oaxaca, such as Juan de Dios Gómez. Looking towards the future, FOFA’s Education and Program Committee is readying the launch of a course specifically geared to woodcarvers and decorative painters that will explore issues surrounding sustainability, as relates to the harvesting of native wood as well as workshop safety. We’ll be sharing more information about this important workshop in a future issue. 

Many thanks to MEAPO staff and to FOFA’s Oaxaca-based administrator, Gina Barrionuevo, who jointly worked on facilitating all aspects of the course and provided photos and background information for this newsletter.