Performance-based activation in collaboration with local cultural agents, around the installation of Autorretrato flameante [...], which proposes to appropriate and extend the logic of the work to the body, sounds and gestures of the territory in which it is located.
In the context of its recent opening in Baja California Sur, Arte Aberto Baja inaugurates its Public Program 2026, based on its collaborative work practice, two activities taking as its starting point the installation conceived by the Mexican artist Abraham CruzVillegas. Rather than parallel events, both are articulated as local appropriations of the work, activating its material, social and symbolic dimensions through the dialogue, body and sound of Baja California Sur.
For Sunday, April 19 at 6 PM, a stage and sound activation will take place around the play. Far from being considered as an autonomous performative act, this activation extends the sculptural field to a relational dimension, in which the spectator's body, the choreographic movement and the sound composition operate as constituent elements of the audience's experience. Arte Abierto Baja collaborates with several local creators to hold this meeting. The traditional piece The Rabbit Dance, choreographed by the Manicari Pericú Folkloric Ballet, directed by Mtro. Rogelio Linas, will collectively guide us to the interior, where the piece Autorretrato flameante[...] of the artist Abraham Cruzvillegas will be the center of a dialogue between the choreography of Sofía Camacho, with costumes by Andrés Zepól, and the soundscape designed by Armando Camalich. The activation is based on a simple idea: that the sculpture should not only be contemplated, but activated by bodies, sounds and gestures that belong to the territory where it is presented.
This activity proposes a shift from the work understood as an object to an expanded practice that is built in relation to its context. In this regard, the installation of Cruzvillegas it is not presented as a static form, but rather as an open field of relationships that are activated through time, participation and interaction with the social, cultural and geographical environment of Baja California Sur.
With this program, Arte Abierto Baja reaffirms its interest in producing experiences that go beyond the traditional exhibition format, betting on mediation models that privilege active participation and encounter between artists, audiences and territory. More than a container of works, space is conceived as a platform in construction, where artistic practice is understood as a living, situated, collective process in constant transformation.
Abraham Cruzvillegas’ artistic process is deeply influenced by his surroundings. Instead of being defined by a particular medium, many of his projects connect through the idea of autoconstrucción: a concept that draws from the ingenious, precarious, and collaborative building tactics implemented by the people living in Colonia Ajusco, his childhood neighborhood in Mexico City. Cruzvillegas adopts an approach based on inventive improvisation and instability, presenting change as a permanent state, emerging from the chaotic and fragmentary nature of life. The evolving notion of autoconstrucción has, in turn, generated explorations into similar concepts, such as autodestrucción and autoconfusión. These inquiries have led the artist not only to explore his own origins, but to collaborate with family and friends in a very personal form of research, resulting in a constant process of learning: about materials, landscape, people, and himself.
Through various media, including sculpture, painting, drawing, installation, and video, Cruzvillegas reveals a close and constant engagement with the material world—immersing himself in the ongoing construction and transformation of personal and collective identities. His sculptures challenge prevailing conceptions of art making by using a wide range of collected objects, while his paintings and drawings depict subjects with a strong sense of humor, instilled by his early training as a political cartoonist. Parallel to his artistic production, Cruzvillegas has cultivated writing as an investigative tool of self-analysis that merges history, criticism, and fiction. His lyrics and texts about art, politics, and culture constitute a significant element of his practice.
Cruzvillegas studied Pedagogy from 1986 to 1990 at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City, while simultaneously attending Gabriel Orozco’s workshop, Taller de los viernes. In 2012, he was the 5th winner of the Yanghyun Prize and received the Prix Altadis d’arts plastiques in 2006.
Cruzvillegas lives and works in Mexico City.
Radio Gorilla is a family project of Art, Parenting and Education committed to working for and from childhood.
Creators of the methodology PLAY | DO | ART which seeks to promote different ways of relating and expressing ourselves based on play, action and different artistic disciplines.
Through this methodology, they develop stage shows, literary publications, concerts, talks and workshops, with the objective of contributing to the development of girls and boys in different contexts, starting from the family to influence the social fabric.
They have collaborated with institutions such as UNICEF, Ministry of Public Education, Attorney General's Office, Consulate General of Mexico in Chicago, Ministry of Culture, World Vision,, among others.
Having the opportunity to present their work in different states of the Mexican Republic and in countries such as Canada, the United States, Costa Rica, Cuba, Spain, France, Germany and China.
Founded in November 1993 by Professor Rogelio Linas Rivera in Cabo San Lucas, this group is a pillar of the cultural identity of Baja California Sur. Originally called Xachwilawa, adopted its current name in 1995, which in the Pericu language means “parakeet in the sky”.
Based at Technical High School 16, the ballet stands out for its mastery of South California dances (representative, ranch, coast and ballroom) and national folklore. His career of more than 30 years includes tours in Mexico and international festivals in the United States. United States, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica, often accompanied by live music.
Beyond the stage, they maintain a strong social commitment by offering free training to young people, consolidating themselves as a hotbed of values and new teachers who today disseminate Mexican dance.
Mexican choreographer, performer, movement creator and artistic director. She trained in classical and contemporary dance at the Jalisco Chamber Ballet, Scene 3 and Joffrey Ballet School in New York. She worked professionally as a dancer at the Ballet de Jalisco and at Coastal City Ballet, Canada. She is the founder and artistic director of the Faze Collective, a young company and high-performance program focused on training and scenic creation, conceived on her own initiative. He has made choreographic montages for various companies and professional dance schools, including the National Dance Company, Ballet de Jalisco, Ballets de San Juan (Puerto Rico), Compañía de Danza Joven de la UNAM (DAJU), Ballet Prover, Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey. Her work has been presented in important spaces such as the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Teatro Degollado, among others, and she has held creative residencies, choreographic montages and master classes nationally and internationally. Her stage creations have participated in various festivals and galas, including the Lila López Festival, the Córdoba International Festival, YAGP Mexico, the International Dance Festival (FID) and the Cervantino Circuit, among others. She is currently an independent choreographer based in Baja California Sur.
Artist in sound instrumentation. Engineer, multi-instrumentalist musician, music producer, director of projects in different branches of music, collaborating with artists in theatrical projection, festivals and creative events of interpretation and original authorship.
In a self-taught way, he started playing from the age of 13. First with Rondalla's guitar and then with the electric guitar playing Rock, with time, Blues, BossaNova, Samba, Hip Hop, Flamenco and gypsy sounds. For Camalich”When music is played and made with passion, a new language is learned, some have a genre and others simply exist through this sound experience: stories are told, anecdotes are told and the spirit of those who make it sound is revived.”
Artista escénicomexicano especializado en danza contemporánea por la Universidad de Sonora. Supráctica se sitúa en la intersección entre la moda, el diseño de vestuario y lacreación escénica, explorando la relación entre cuerpo, movimiento e indumentaria.Se ha formado en programas del MOMA y el CENART, y ha diseñado vestuario paraproyectos presentados en el Palacio de Bellas Artes y la Compañía Juvenil de laUNAM. También ha impartido su taller Diseño de vestuario como detonante demovimiento para la creación coreográfica a más de 40 alumnos en distintosestados del país, compartiendo su versión sobre el diálogo entre danza y moda.
Arte Abierto inicia su programa de mediación y comunicación educativa 2022 con una conversación entre la investigadora y escritora Irmgard Emmelhainz y Sebastien Noel de Troika, tomando la exposición No Sound of Water como punto de partida. Abordarán los temas presentes en este proyecto, como el Antropoceno, y harán diferentes lecturas y cuestionamientos (Materialist Realism / Philosophy of Matter / Art as Image).
Irmgard Emmelhainz transmitirá en vivo desde No Sound of Water en Arte Abierto.
