Curating Visibility: Latino cARTographies

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Latino cARTographies is an interactive digital archive and exhibition reimagining Houston through an inclusive vision of Latino art, artists, and community. This project was developed out of the University of Houston’s Center for Mexican American and Latino/a Studies (CMALS) as the brain child of Dr. Pamela Anne Quiroz (Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of Houston). After hosting the 2019 Latino Art Now! - a national visual arts conference - Quiroz joined with Juana Guzman (former vice president of the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago) to preserve this experience, art, and culture for a wide public audience. Using TouchCity™ technology developed by Gibson International, Quiroz, Guzman, and a research team of faculty and students gathered hundreds of hours of data and 2,000 images related to 250 Latino artists, 80 landmarks, 17 arts organizations, and other important sites within Houston’s Latino communities. As mobile digital boards, public audiences can now experience Latino cARTographies throughout the city of Houston, at Bush Intercontinental and Hobby Airports, The Heritage Society, Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA), the Mexican Consulate, and Art Museum, TX.

In Spring 2023, the team took the digital board to a new level with an immersive, cinematic event. A selection of artists and organizations were integrated with music and animations and then projected on walls 20-feet tall for a 270-degree wraparound experience. A few days later, Quiroz and Guzman sat down to talk with Dr. Debbie Harwell in the CMALS office, reflecting on the three-year project, audience reception, and plans for the future.

To learn more about Latino cARTographies, see their official page through the Center for Mexican American and Latino/a Studies: https://www.uh.edu/class/cmals/latino-cartographies/index
On the TouchCity™ platform, see Gibson International's webpage: https://www.gibsoninternational.design/portfolio/latino-cartographies/
The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph