Opening Celebration: Beyond the Vanishing Maya
Join us for the opening celebration of Beyond the Vanishing Maya: Voices of a Land in Resistance
Beyond the Vanishing Maya is the first exhibition of its kind, featuring contemporary Maya artworks curated by Maya curator Diego Ventura Puac-Coyoy. This exhibition aims to break down myths and misconceptions about the Maya, their existence, their art and their culture. By placing different artistic expressions used by contemporary Maya artists, including painting, textiles, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, poetry and music on equal footing, we strive to tell a story that celebrates the richness of Maya art and culture while also challenging European hierarchies in art history.
Schedule
5:30 PM – Meet us in front of the Gardiner Museum (111 Queen’s Park) to witness a performance by Curator, Artist and Aj’qi’j (spiritual leader) Diego Ventura Puac-Coyoy as he walks from Gardiner to the Textile Museum. Viewing is encouraged, viewers will walk behind the artist and videographer.
6:00 PM – Join us at the Textile Museum of Canada (55 Centre Ave) for the opening celebration.
Please note that space is limited and if the building reaches capacity, there may be a wait to enter.
Curator Bio
Diego Ventura Puac lives and works between Chichicastenango and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Ajq’ij, curator, and artist, he belongs to the Mayan K’iche nation. Co-founder of Espacio/C art+memory. Co-editor and curatorial assistant of the Imago-mundi Guatemala collection. Curator/committee of selection from the MARTE Museum of El Salvador auction (2016), selected along with others Central American curators for the TEOR/éTica curatorial studies program in Costa Rica (2018) and has collaborated in the production of texts for the cataloging of the auction of the MAC Panama Museum of Contemporary Art (2019 and 2020). Curator of the exhibition Before Being We Were from the Paiz Foundation, with the Ventura Puac-Coyoy Collection and the collection of the Paiz Foundation (2020). He currently works as an advisor external of the Visual Arts program of the International Baccalaureate in establishments private in Guatemala.
In 2022, with the support of TEOR/éTica (Costa Rica) and DAAD Berlin (Germany), he edited and published the book Strong Wind, which is the first volume of essays that record visions of knowledge and science of indigenous peoples expressed in art and thought. Since 2015 he has been curator of the Ventura Puac-Coyoy Collection, the first collection in the region of visual arts formed and financed by an indigenous family. He is also a member of the 2022-2023 editorial board of Terremoto magazine in Mexico. He is also the visual arts manager at the El Sótano Xela gallery and bookstore. Received the award of the Golden Button of the Municipality of Quetzaltenango as a Distinguished Citizen for his contributions to art and culture in December 2022. Received the Award from the indigenous brotherhood oldest in Quetzaltenango, the Niño del Santísimo Cultural Award in 2023. He was member of the qualifying jury of the fund and artistic residency for community projects of the New Factory, 2023 edition. In 2022 and 2023, he was part of the Indigenous Mayor’s Office of Chichicastenango as U’rox aj’ kam.
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