Forging Memory: Chilean Art and Politics

Two exhibitions Sewn in Protest showcase Chilean patchwork tapestries called arpilleras, which were among the earliest expressions of political protest during the military dictatorship that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990.

The exhibition at Gibson Gallery at SUNY Potsdam opens Thursday, February 14, at 5 pm with a faculty panel on life in Chile during these years. Caramelo Trio will perform music inspired in Latin American traditions, featuring works by Violeta Parra and Victor Jara, at the reception to follow from 6-8 pm. The exhibition runs until March 30.

The exhibition at the Richard F. Brush Gallery at St. Lawrence University opens Monday, March 4, at 7 pm with a keynote address by Dr. Katherine Hite, Vassar College, author on politics and commemoration in Latin America and Spain. Her talk is titled: "Memorializing in Movement: Chilean Sites of Memory as Spaces of Activism and Imagination." Caramelo Trio will perform music inspired in Latin American traditions, featuring works by Violeta Parra and Victor Jara, at the reception to follow from 8-9 pm.  The exhibition runs until April 11.  

Both exhibitions incorporate educational and cultural programs to deepen understanding of the arpilleras as works of art and as symbols of the broader human rights movement.

At SUNY-Potsdam: 

La Vida Breve, a concert by Zapateado Duo with Angelica Sganga, piano, and Marie-Élaine Gagnon, cello, on Sunday, March 3, 7:30 pm in Snell Music Theatre, SUNY Potsdam. The concert features engaging Latin and Spanish works—including Falla, Lecuona, and Ginastera—works that have been forgotten or are rarely heard by the public.

The musicians studied together at Florida International University and have been playing together for many years before officially forming the Zapateado Duo. Dr. Gagnon is currently assistant professor of cello at the Crane School of Music SUNY-Potsdam. Dr. Oscar Sarmiento, chair of Modern Languages at SUNY Potsdam, will introduce the concert

Francisco Letelier collaborative mural with a student team from SUNY Potsdam and St. Lawrence University, Monday, March 25, through Friday, March 29, auditorium across from Gibson Gallery, SUNY Potsdam, visiting hours to observe production and converse with participants, TBA. Closing fiesta, Friday, March 29, in auditorium across from Gibson Gallery, SUNY Potsdam, 3pm. For information, call 315-267-2558.

At St. Lawrence University: 

Public screening of Chilean film "Nostalgia de la luz" on Thursday, March 7 in Carnegie 10, 7:00-9:00 pm. The movie depicts the search for the remains of a missing loved one in the Atacama desert. This screening is part of the Department of Modern Language’s International Film Series.

Francisco Letelier lecture, “Blackboards of the People: Murals and Activism from the Americas,” Wednesday, March 27, 7 pm, Griffiths 123, St. Lawrence University. A catered reception will follow in the Brush Gallery.

Funding for this project comes from - (at SUNY Potsdam): the Art Museum, BOB Grant, Dean of Arts & Sciences, Departments of Art, Modern Languages, History and Women's & Gender Studies, Division of Diversity Equity and Inclusion and LoKo Arts Festival; (at SLU) the Arts Collaborative, Digital Initiative, Richard F Brush Art Gallery, History Department, and CIIS.

Media sponsor for the exhibit is NCPR.