Exhibition Dates: October 5 to November 23, 2013

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 12 Noon-5pm

Curated by Christina Sanchez and Cayetano Juarez for the William Grant Still Arts Center, Tequio Aqui, Tequio Alla brings together artists who are involved in sustaining or examining the Oaxacan practice of tequio in a post-migration urban context. The exhibition examines how this internalized tradition of service manifests itself in the civic, familial, and cultural lives of Oaxacan migrants. 

A tequio is a call to a pueblo to perform communal work for a mutual benefit; it is essentially a mandatory community service project that asks residents to contribute their labor free of charge. When Oaxacans in Los Angeles speak about these exercises in mutual aid they often describe something that goes far beyond supporting infrastructure projects in their hometowns. Instead, they are describing a way of life which is dedicated to ensuring the survival of their traditions and spiritual customs. The artists represented in this exhibition have all participated in various manifestations of tequio in their respective communities. 

Daniel Godínez Nivón and the Asamblea de Migrantes Indígenas de la Ciudad de México (the Assembly of Indigenous Migrants of Mexico City) present their illustrative tequiografias which are modeled on the Mexican state-sanctioned educational monographs for school children. These tequiografias are a reclamation of these monographs and depict alternative educational lessons as explained by indígenas living in Mexico City. The Los Angeles based female painting collective Mujer de Barro, Mujeres de Hierro (Woman of Clay, Women of Iron) operates under the guidance of Oaxacan painters Calixto Shibaja and Maricruz Shibaja and uses painting as a vehicle for uplifting immigrant women and building strong female bonds. Photographer Jeseca Dawson visits the Mujer de Barro, Mujeres de Hierro studio and teams up with the painters to begin the documentation of their collective process. Christina Sanchez and Cayetano Juarez exhibit their video Tequio Aqui, Tequio Allá, featuring interviews with Los Angeles based Oaxacans from multiple Oaxacan municipalities to reflect on how tequio practices are sustained post-migration. Oaxacan artists Noel Vargas Hernandez and Maricruz Shibaja contribute prints and paintings which pay homage to their Oaxacan roots. 

For more information and special events - 

http://wgsac.wordpress.com/2013/09/11/tequio-aqui-tequio-alla/