School of Visual Arts presents “elmuseo@SVA,” an exhibition of work by Latino MFA Fine Arts alumni. Curated by Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, curator, El Museo del Barrio, “elmuseo@SVA” is on view Saturday, January 16, through Saturday, February 20, at the SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 15th floor, New York City.

“elmuseo@SVA” represents a coming together of two New York institutions: El Museo del Barrio and the School of Visual Arts. Founded by artist Raphael Montanez Ortiz and local activists, parents and teachers in East Harlem, El Museo del Barrio’s original mission was to support the art and culture of Puerto Rico. By the early 1970s that mission expanded to include all of Latin America and Latino communities in the Unites States. The work on view in the exhibition explores the aesthetic and thematic affinities of these different but like-minded communities. In the words of curator Aranda-Alvarado: “At various stages of their careers, the artists in the show act as contemporary anthropologists gathering objects or inspiration from the urban landscape, engaging with issues around migration and the body, exploring space and architecture, tradition and craft.”

Participating artists include Manuel Acevedo and MFA Fine Arts alumni Soledad Arias (2002), Vladimir Cybil Charlier (1993), Guido Garaycochea (2015), Alejandro Guzman (2009), Erik Shorrock Guzman (2003), Elisabeth Jobim (1992), Elan Jurado (2012), Cynthia Rojas (2003), Diana Santiago (2008), K.C. Tidemand (2015), Denise Treizman (2013) and Juana Valdes (1993).

The MFA Fine Arts program reflects the diversity of New York’s many art worlds. Together, the faculty and students form a community of established and emerging artists from many backgrounds who work across disciplines and modes of practice. The program’s main goals are to provide a stimulating and supportive environment in which students can thrive and develop as artists, to foster rigorous critical engagement with contemporary art and other cultural forms, and to produce an ongoing conversation, through work as much as through words, about what we make, how we make it and why.

The MFA Fine Arts program attracts ambitious emerging artists from many countries and backgrounds. In their commitment to art, and to one another, they provide a foundation for artistic growth that extends beyond graduation and forms an ongoing platform of professional support.

El Museo del Barrio, New York’s leading Latino cultural institution, welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of Latino, Caribbean and Latin American cultures. Their richness is represented in El Museo’s wide-ranging collections and critically acclaimed exhibitions, complemented by film, literary, visual and performing arts series, cultural celebrations and educational programs. The museum is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00am – 6:00pm. Admission is suggested. For more information, visit elmuseo.org, and connect with the museum on Facebook (facebook.com/elmuseo), Instagram and Twitter (@elmuseo).

Exhibition

elmuseo@SVA

SVA Chelsea Gallery

Reception