Fundación Casa Wabi celebrates ten years of work on the coast of Oaxaca. During this time, a model of collaboration has been built between the Foundation, the artists and the communities. This exhibition commemorates the convergence between art, community and nature, developed through five fundamental programs: residencies and community projects, exhibitions, clay, film and mobile library.
Founded in October 2014 by Bosco Sodi and Lucia Corredor, Casa Wabi has as a reference on the Oaxacan coast the work of the great Japanese architect Tadao Ando; The Foundation takes its name from the Japanese concept wabi, which broadly means "the elegant beauty of humble simplicity. In addition to this, Casa Wabi develops two spaces for contemporary art in Santa María la Rivera, a neighborhood in Mexico City; one of them designed by architect Alberto Kalach. It is a non-profit social organization, focused on collaboration between contemporary artists, architecture and community. By encouraging exchange between these actors, the Foundation experiments with the powers of art in strengthening community relationships, promotes personal and collective creativity, recreates local cultural manifestations and stimulates association and entrepreneurship.
Although this exhibition includes the actions of 72 artists, the program of residencies and community projects has welcomed more than three hundred creators and cultural actors from various parts of the world. The program promotes dialogue between the artists, the Foundation's team of collaborators and the communities, always based on the creative inspiration of the residents. In the same way, the Foundation has sought to establish a collaborative and creative relationship with different forms of social organization, such as schools, cooperatives, civil organizations, music bands or dance companies, coming from fifteen different communities on the Oaxacan coast: Agua Zarca, Aguaje el Zapote, Bajos de Chila, Cacalote, Cerro Hermoso, Hidalgo, Juquila, Las Negras, Puerto Escondido, Río Grande, San Isidro Llano Grande, San José Manialtepec, San Martín Caballero, El Venado and Zapotalito.
The exhibition, curated by Alberto Ríos de la Rosa and Juan Pino Poliakoff, is structured in five sections: «Comunidad en casa», «Comunidad en acción», «Comunidad como inspiración», «Comunidad creadora» and «Casa Wabi en tu escuela». Each section interweaves a thoughtful sampling of works with creations arising from the artists-in-residence experiences and their commitment to communities, forming a landscape of artistic expression and human collaboration.
The Colegio de San Ildefonso regards this exhibition as a valuable experience of artistic and community cooperation: an initiative generated by Bosco Sodi, a contemporary artist who, together with a team of collaborators, expresses a pertinent interest in cultural development, environmental and social of a territory in which he produces his own work and develops various projects, lives with his family and coexists with neighbors and residents of some of the coastal communities, representatives of the rich cultural diversity of Oaxaca.
Featuring the works by Alejandra Venegas and on view between 1 February - 26 May 2024.
