YES Contemporary 2020 Impact Report

Contemporary Art El Salvador

2020 IMPACT REPORT

2020

2020 was a particular year, however, we are proud to say that we have continued to expand our program. We inaugurated the curatorial grant to promote curatorial projects related to El Salvador. We also reinforced programs such as the Artist Grants, which now awards $5,000 for Salvadoran artists and projects. We published 3 critical articles as a result of the Artist Academy initiated in 2019.

Being a nomadic program, Y.ES Contemporary had the opportunity to adapt to the changes that have taken place in the world. Emergency Grants were awarded to artists and projects that were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. We enhanced our Online Study Visits program, connecting Salvadoran artists and curators around the world. Our traveling exhibition Contornos de Libertad / Borders of Freedom was presented in virtual format in collaboration with Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. The Regional Art Residency Program for Curated Production was initiated in collaboration with the Cultural Center of Spain in Costa Rica and other Central American institutions.

Y.ES Contemporary is proud to work with such an outstanding artistic community. Therefore, in addition to our achievements, we want to share some of the many accomplishments of Salvadoran artists. Seeing such a prolific and exciting scene only motivates us to continue our work.

Just Say Y.ES MARIO CADER-FRECH Y.ES Contemporary Founder 1

Y.ES Contemporary Art Loan Program

Y. E S T R AV E L I N G E X H I B I T I O N S Borders of Freedom Curated by Patricio Majano

6

7

ARTISTS /

VIDEOS

Abigail Reyes, Alexia Miranda, Crack Rodríguez, Fredy Solan, Guadalupe Maravilla, Sayre Quevedo

FEBRUARY 25 IE University during Madrid Art week

OCTOBER 10 TO DECEMBER 15 Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions LACE

LOANS TO EXHIBITIONS JULY 22 - AUGUST 9 “Melodrama”, Espacio Unión, CDMX, Mexico. Curated by Juan Pablo Ramos. Featuring Abigail Reyes, Sí Señor.

NOVEMBER 12, 2020 JANUARY 17, 2021 “Cuidado y Peligro de sí”, Sala Amós Salvador, Logroño, Spain.

Curated by Fernando Castro Flórez. Featuring Abigail Reyes, Sí Señor.

See yescontemporary.org/loan for more information on loaning artwork.

The Y.ES Contemporary Art Loan Program is made possible thanks to The Mario Cader-Frech Collection

2

Artist Academy CRITICALITY IN ARTS WRITING

3

arts writers were commissioned to write articles published by Y.ES Contemporary and Arte al Día

DALIA CHÉVEZ

EDUARDO CRESPÍN

JAIME IZAGUIRRE

Led by Y.ES Council member and scholar

GABRIELA POMA

The Possibilities of Performativity to Rethink Current Local Art Museums, or Devise New Ones, in El Salvador by Dalia Chévez Aesthetic resistance as a way to approach the aesthetic regime of the Salvadoran artistic environment by Eduardo Crespín Behind the Image of the Indigenous in the Visual Arts of El Salvador. After A Construction from Contradiction by Jaime Izaguirre

Y.ES thanks our partner Arte Al Día

3

Talks

6 TALKS

AUGUST 31 IE University. Mario Cader-Frech, Melissa Guevara, Patricio Majano.

FEBRUARY 14 Call for Curators Patricio Majano, Ilaria Conti.

FEBRUARY 14 Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. Abigail Reyes, Arshia Haq, Liliana Hueso, Patricio Majano.

FEBRUARY 25 Photo Fringe Jose Campos (Studio Lenca), Patricio Majano.

TA L K C O L L A B O R AT I O N S MARCH 1 Mikasa-teléfono 5. Mario Cader-Frech, Alberto Olé, Angustias Freijo, Carol Solar, Joaquín Gallego.

4

MARCH 20 University of El Salvador Manuel Guerrero, Mauricio Linares, Patricio Majano

Grants Y. E S C U R AT O R S G R A N T EDUARDO CRESPÍN & VÍCTOR ARTIGA

were selected as the winners of 2020 YES Contemporary Curators Grant for their project “Aisthesis”, an exhibition that will feature the works of 7 international artists at the Center for International Research and Collaborative Arts CIRCA 106, in Bremen, Germany. The work themes will address territory, decolonization, politics and the body and participating artists include Natalia Domínguez, Alexia Miranda, Erick Benitez, Nicolò Cervello, Pablo Somonte Ruano, Vicc Repasi, Aria Faranezhad.

Eduardo Crespín is a Salvadoran curator based in La Libertad, El Salvador, and cofounder of “Ensayo y Error” project. Víctor Artiga is a Salvadoran artist and curator based in Germany, and co-director of CIRCA 106.

Y.ES thanks Independent jurors

TAMI KATZ-FREIMAN Art historian, curator and critic based in Miami.

Former Chief Curator of the Haifa Museum of Art in Israel

MAYA JURACÁN Chief Curator of the Biennial in Resistance in Guatemala.

ANTONIO ROMERO Co-curator of the temporary exhibition’s hall at the Luis Poma Theater in El Salvador

5

Y. E S A R T W R I T E R S G R A N T

ANNETTE LIN was selected as the winner

of the 2020 Y.ES Arts Writers Grant in collaboration with HYPERALLERGIC. In the article she will address how queer, female Salvadoran artists in the diaspora are writing a new narrative of El Salvador which contrasts the official representation of the country by the media.

the theme of ‘How queer, female Salvadoran artists “ Iinpicked the diaspora are writing a new narrative of the country’

because, as a a third-generation migrant and member of multiple diasporas myself, I think it’s important to challenge the notion of identity as fixed and consistent—because it’s not. At its heart the theme I picked challenges this notion within the frameworks of both national and personal identity, and I’m excited to explore how these artists negotiate and renegotiate these multiple layers within their work.

- Annette Lin

”

Y.ES thanks Independent jurors

GABRIELA RANGEL Artistic Director of MALBA, Buenos Aires

HRAG VARTANIAN The editor-in-chief and co-founder of Hyperallergic

SUSANA MARCELO Professor of Central American Studies at California State University, Northridge

Y.ES thanks our partner Hyperallergic

6

ARTIST GRANTS

WELCOME TO INTIPUCÁ CITY

Koral Carballo, Anita Pouchard Serra and Jessica Ávalos, members of Welcome to Intipucá City Team, have been awarded a YES Grant for an exhibition project and installation to take place at Casa de la cultura de Intipucá during the traditional festivities of the town.

Welcome to Intipucá City is a collective transmedia project that addresses Salvadoran migration to the USA, considering the case of Intipucá, and the Salvadoran community from Intipucá living in Washington D.C.

FRANCIS AND ANTHONY ALMENDÁREZ Houston-based Salvadoran artists Francis and Anthony Almendárez have been awarded a YES Contemporary Artist Grant to lead a workshop and screening at Cantón San Cristobal neighborhood (Ciudad Barrios, San Miguel, ES) in 2021. During the workshop, they will work with the local community, leading the participants to create their own videos and present them in a public screening on the final day.

YES thanks Independent jurors

PABLO LEÓN DE LA BARRA Guggenheim UBS MAP Curator, Latin America at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

TERESA VELÁZQUEZ Head of Temporary Exhibitions at the Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid

MAURICIO KABISTAN Salvadoran artist and curator. Member of The Fire Theory. Co-Curator of Luis Poma Theater

7

Y. E S E M E R G E N C Y G R A N T S

4

Emergency Grants

Y.ES Contemporary awarded 4 grants of $500 for Salvadoran artists based anywhere in the world who experienced financial setbacks relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

YES thanks Independent jurors

BEATRIZ CORTEZ Artist, Professor and Y.ES Council-member

CAROLINA ALVAREZ-MATHIES Deputy Director of Dallas Contemporary and Y.ES Contemporary Founding Council-member

ELOÍSA VAELLO MARCO Executive Director of Cultural Center of Spain in El Salvador (CCESV)

Online Studio Visits

12

ONLINE STUDIO VISITS

ANTONIO ROMERO AND MANUELA VELÁZQUEZ Director of Lokkus gallery in Medellin, Colombia 8

BEATRIZ CORTEZ AND ILARIA CONTI

Independent curator. Recently served as a Research Curator for Cosmopolis at the Centre Pompidou, in France

WALTERIO IRAHETA AND ANDREW UTT

CRACK RODRÍGUEZ AND DANIELA LIEJA

JAVIER RAMÍREZ (NADIE) AND OMAR LÓPEZ CHAHOUD

ALEXIA MIRANDA AND MANUELA VELÁZQUEZ

Lux Art Institute Executive Director in California

Artistic Director and Curator of the Untitled Miami Beach Art Fair

Curator at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions

Director of Lokkus gallery in Medellin, Colombia

9

GUADALUPE MARAVILLA AND DANIELA LIEJA Curator at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions

NATALIA DOMÍNGUEZ AND RAQUEL VILLAR-PÉREZ Researcher, art curator and writer. Assistant Curator at Photoworks UK

ANTONIO ROMERO AND MARIA CHIARA WANG Independet curator based in Bologna, Italy.

HARRY AND CLAUDIA WASHINGTON WITH ANNA CORNICK AND WAVA CARPENTER

Anna Carnick and Wava Carpenter are Fouders of Anava Projects, a new design-for-good agency.

10

NATALIA DOMÍNGUEZ, IRIS LAM CHEN AND SALVADOR VAYÁ SALORT

Salvador Vayà was the former Director of the Cultural Center of Spain in Costa Rica. Iris Lam Chen is an Arts Manager at the Cultural Center of Spain in Costa Rica, and is the Director of Global Metro Art

CRACK RODRÍGUEZ, FRANCESCO BUONERBA AND MARIANNA DE MARZI

Francesco Buonerba and Marianna de Marzi are part of the Italian curatorial duo Los Azules Tigres del Caos

11

Central American Residencies

2 ARTISTS 2 CURATORS The Regional Curated Art Residencies in Visual Art and New Media is a program created by the Cultural Center of Spain in Costa Rica, in collaboration with Y.ES Contemporary, Casa Caníbal (Costa Rica), The Cultural Center of Spain in El Salvador, La Revuelta (Guatemala), Ensayo y Error (El Salvador), espacio/C (Guatemala), Quorum Laboratorio Cultural (Panama), and La Fábrica (El Salvador). The program supports the production of projects by Central American artists, and connects them with curators from other regions from Central America.

LANDRÉS PAZ LAndrés Paz will be working in Tres Lunas, curated by Tatiana Muñoz (Costa Rica)

12

RODRIGO GUARDADO Rodrigo Guardado will be working in Anotaciones, curated by Erika Martin (Costa Rica)

PATRICIO MAJANO

NATALIA DOMÍNGUEZ

Patricio Majano will be curating Aureola Mental Factory, by artist Silvia García Solís (Costa Rica)

Natalia Domínguez will be curating Espacios Habitables, by artist Alessandra Sequeira (Costa Rica)

CanalY.ES (new) Y.ES Contemporary launched CanalY.ES, a channel dedicated to the videos of the program from 2014 to present, including Y.ES Talks, artist interviews and more.

28 VIDEOS

Stream Y.ES content at yescontemporary.org/canalyes

13

Art Trip Alumni Outcomes in 2020 LUISA FUENTES GUAZA

Independent researcher and curator based in Spain, focuses in emancipatory processes and ruptures in artistic and curatorial practice.

Visited El Salvador in 2016.

- Curated the exhibition Corposoberanía, at the Cultural Center of Spain in El Salvador, including works by Colectiva Amorales, Alexia Miranda, and more.

JOSSELINE PINTO

Independent curator, researcher, writer and professor based in Guatemala.

Founder and Curator of Manifesto Espacio. Visited El Salvador in 2018.

- In June, Pinto conducted a workshop about Digital Art and new Media in Central America, and invited Salvadoran artist Orlando Villatoro to share about his practice.

- She included Ernesto Bautista’s work for the digital traveling exhibition Notes for Tomorrow, organized by Independent Curators International (ICI).

ÉRIKA CUERVO

Independent curator. Curatorial Advisor at Lokkus Gallery in Medellin, Colombia. Visited El Salvador in 2017.

- Included the work by Abigail Reyes in the exhibition “Con esta boca, en este mundo”, presented at Lokkus gallery in Medellin, Colombia.

MANUEL URBINA

Curator at Poporopo Project and Rozas Botran Foundation in Guatemala.

Visited El Salvador in 2018.

Included the work of artists Abigail Reyes and Walterio Iraheta in the collective exhibition “Revisiones 2” at Osmosis in Guatemala City.

ALEJANDRO DE VILLOTA

Cultural Entrepreneur. Founder of Memoria Gallery, at Madrid, Spain.

- Included works by Rafael Díaz and Muriel Hasbun at “El Castigo”, the inaugural exhibition of Memoria Gallery.

14

2020 Partners The impact of Y.ES Contemporary in 2020 is made possible with the support of these partners:

ARTE AL DÍA ATELIER SOLAR CROWNE PLAZA CONFERENCE CENTER CULTURAL CENTER OF SPAIN IN EL SALVADOR CULTURAL CENTER OF SPAIN IN COSTA RICA HYPERALLERGIC IMPACT HUB SAN SALVADOR LABERINTO PROJECTS LOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS MUSEUM OF ART OF EL SALVADOR POINT BUSINESS CENTER LA FÁBRIK

15

2020 Artist Highlights BEATRIZ CORTEZ participated in Frieze Sculpture 2020 at Rockefeller Center, New York. Cortez won the Inaugural Frieze Arto LIFEWTR® Sculpture Prize in 2019 and was commissioned to create a large sculpture for the exhibition. Cortez also presented her work in the online viewing rooms of Frieze and Art Basel. She also participated in several exhibitions and talks.

GUADALUPE MARAVILLA In April, P.P.O.W gallery in New York announced its representation of Salvadoran US-based artist Guadalupe Maravilla. He was also part of the online viewing rooms of Frieze and Art Basel.

ALEXIA MIRANDA’S participated in Contínuo Latidoamericano de Performance festival, and organized the events in El Salvador. She also was part of the First International online Triennial of Performance DEFORMES Chile 2020.

ABIGAIL REYES participated at Réunion, Second Performance Festival, at Honduras. She was also part of more than 6 collective exhibition in the USA, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.

16

SIMÓN VEGA participated in Art Basel Online Viewing Room: Miami Beach, represented by Maia Contemporary.

Additionally, Vega presented his work in a pop up exhibition in Casa Versalles, México, organized by the Mexican galleries originally selected for Art Basel Miami Beach.

STUDIO LENCA (JOSE CAMPOS) was selected as the winner of Photo Fringe Open20 Solo. He presented a solo online exhibition as part of the Photo Fringe Festival. Campos created a collaborative gallery as part of the exhibition

MELISSA GUEVARA participated in a residency in Usera, Madrid, Spain.

During the residency, Guevara developed personal projects addressing migration.

MURIEL HASBUN’S photograph work ¿Solo una sombra?/ Only a Shadow? was acquired by the Whitney Museum as part if their collection. Additionally, she was awarded an Artists & Scholars Project Grant by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Maryland.

She also was one of the six Sondheim Artscape Finalist.

17

JOSEFINA PAZ Josefina Paz was one of the artists selected as winner of the 7th Michel Journiac Gallery award, and presented recent work in the exhibition “Juste Avant” on October. Additionally, she was part of part of the collective exhibition “Ouverture”, presented at Jour et Nuit Culture in Paris, France

WALTERIO IRAHETA presented his solo exhibition “The Line” at La Única Gallery in Downtown San Salvador explores the medium of drawing. On February 19, as part of the exhibition, he executed a series of actions at Plaza Morazán and the Gallery

EDDIE RODOLFO APARICIO opened his solo exhibition Espinas Amorosas/Loving Thorns at Commonwealth and Council in Los Angeles on September.

JOHN RIVAS presented the solo exhibition “Las Voces Inside of Me” at Untitled Art Fair in Miami, represented by Latchkey Gallery.

18

Y.ES IS AN INITIATIVE OF THE ROBERT S. WENNETT AND MARIO CADER-FRECH FOUNDATION

Y.ES Council Mario Cader-Frech Robert S. Wennett Adriana Cisneros de Griffin Simón Vega Carolina Alvarez-Mathies Gabriela Poma Solita Cohen Claire Breukel Beatriz Cortez Y.ES Team Patricio Majano

yescontemporary.org @yescontemporary info@yescontemporary.org