SOMA Summer is a unique eight-week program for international artists, curators, critics and art historians, conducted in English in Mexico City between July 4 and August 25 2016.

SOMA Summer introduces participants to the dynamic art scene of Mexico City through visits to museums, openings, and artists’ studios. Designed to promote intense creative work and dialogue, the program is built around a series of seminars and workshops led by renowned Mexican and international artists. Participants meet weekly for individual critiques with a variety of artists and curators, while also engaging in public programs, site visits, and other activities in and around Mexico City.

SOMA is a space for reconsideration and reflection. Each SOMA Summer is organized around a specific conceptual framework and provides a compelling platform for artists who want to critically analyze their work while developing new ideas. We stress the importance of our program content, and would discourage applicants who are primarily looking for a studio-based residency. SOMA facilities offer shared studio spaces, and although labs and workshops are not available, we do provide logistical support for producing work and organizing events within Mexico City.

All program activities are in English.

SOMA Summer 2016 
Archive Fever, Jacques Derrida’s book on the power and politics of the archive, describes a perpetual tension between the will to secure the documents that allow for the inscription of the past, and the desire to share these documents, even at the cost of losing them. For the French philosopher, the archive was never a question of the past, but rather a possibility of the future. During SOMA Summer 2016, we will similarly focus on the use and production of documents in contemporary art as a way to expand the discussion of the archive that has been seminal in art practices for more than a decade. Along with the scheduled lectures and seminars related to this topic, we will visit a number of important archives in Mexico City that will help us shape an image of Latin American art.

Seminars, workshops, and lectures:
Eduardo Abaroa (artist, Mexico)
Carlos Amorales (artist, Mexico)
Matthew Buckingham (artist, U.S.)
Amy Sara Carroll (art historian, U.S.)
Giacomo Castagnola (artist, Peru)
Camel Collective (artist collective, Mexico/U.S.)
Ricardo Dominguez (artist, U.S.)

Special sessions:
Sofía Carrillo (curator, Mexico)
João Enxuto and Erica Love (artists, U.S.)
Diego Flores-Magón (curator, Mexico)
Sol Henaro (curator, Mexico)
Edgar Hernández (art historian/writer, Mexico)
Víctor Lerma (artist, Mexico)
Mauricio Marcín (curator, Mexico)
Mónica Mayer (artist, Mexico)
Fernando Mesta (curator, Mexico)
Dee Williams (artist, U.S.)

Studio visits:
Yoshua Okón (artist, Mexico)
Virginia Colwell (artist, U.S.)
Mario García Torres (artist, Mexico)
Lorena Wolffer (artist, Mexico)

Individual critiques:
Esteban King Alvarez (curator, Mexico)
Magalí Arriola (curator, Mexico)
Virginia Colwell (artist, U.S.)
Tatiana Cuevas (curator, Mexico)
Helena Chávez curator/art historian, Mexico)
Mariana David (curator, Mexico)
Magnolia De la Garza (curator, Mexico)
Irving Dominguez (critic, Mexico)
Maribel Escober (critic, Mexico)
Mario García-Torres (artist, Mexico)
Anthony Graves (artist, U.S.)
Sol Henaro (curator, Mexico)
Graciela Kasep (curator, Mexico)
Willy Kautz (curator, Mexico)
Alejandra Labastida (curator, Mexico)
Víctor Palacios (curator, Mexico)
Bárbara Perea (curator, Mexico)
Paola Santoscoy (curator, Mexico)

Mentorship with:
Eduardo Abaroa (artist, Mexico)
Raúl Ortega Ayala (artist, Mexico)
Iñaki Bonillas (artist, Mexico)
Nate Harrison (artist/writer, U.S.)
Carla Herrera-Prats (artist, Mexico)
Joaquín Segura (artist, Mexico)

Apply online
More information about SOMA Summer
Detailed program of activities
Contact: info@somamexico.org

SOMA Summer is part of SOMA—an experimental pedagogical project launched in 2009, conceived to nurture discussion and exchange in the field of contemporary art in Mexico City. We provide a counterpoint to the dynamics of art schools, museums, and galleries.

somamexico.org