Advocates of a Latino Museum of Cultural and Visual Arts & Archive Complex in Houston, Harris County (ALMAAHH) and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) have announced that they are collaborating in a call for artist proposals for their 2024 Fall Festival.
Six Houston Latinx artists will be selected to create large-scale, temporary sculptures to be on view in the MFAH’s Cullen Sculpture Garden during the Fall Festival scheduled for November 10 – 17, 2024.
Now in its third year, the Fall Festival “celebrates the Museum’s commitment to Latin American and Latino art, and art of the Indigenous Americas,” as stated by the MFAH. Last year’s festival featured sculptures by six artists highlighting the theme Dream with Alebrijes, as well as live music, dance, and art-making activities for families.
The theme of the 2024 Fall Festival is Myths and Leyendas.
Myths and Leyendas is a connective tissue throughout Latin America in the sense that every country, region has their own legends/myths/folklore. These stories travel with people, are passed down from generation to generation and continue to evolve throughout the Latinx diaspora. For example, El Salvador has the folklore of El Cadejo, a dog-like creature which can appear in as a white dog (for protection) or as a black dog (bad omen). La Llorona, the infamous mythology of a woman based in colonial times in Mexico. La Tunda, a jungle shapeshifter from the Pacific coast of Colombia/Ecuador of the Afro-Colombian community. Los Duendes, gnome-like creatures which go by different names throughout Latin
America (Tata Duende in Creole communities in Belize, Alux in Mayan beliefs throughout Yucatan Peninsula and Guatemala). This theme empowers the artists to bring their own cultural background in the creation of the sculpture and educate others through their work.– Press release from ALMAAHH and MFAH
Latinx artists who live and work in Houston are eligible to apply, and there is no application fee.
Proposed sculptures should be visible from the street, weather-resistant to outdoor conditions, and inspired by myths and folklore of Latin America.
A stipend of $5,000 will be provided to each artist to cover labor, materials, and transportation of the artwork.
More information and a link to the application can be found here. The deadline to apply is August 5, 2024.
Houston Arts Journal 