California Institute of Integral Studies, 1453 Mission Street, San Francisco • 415.575.6100
Opening Reception and Artists’ Panel • Saturday, January 22, 6 pm
Exhibit: Jan 22 2011 – Mar 18 2011
Namaste Hall, CIIS Main Building • 453 Mission Street, San Francisco
Featuring: Ana Teresa Fernández, Angelica Muro, Shizu Saldamando, and Mitsy
Ávila Ovalles, in conversation with Amalia Mesa-Bains
ChicaChic includes images that honor the concepts, themes, and iconography of
the Chicano civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s but reflect a world
that is drastically changed. The works in the show include a large canvas by Ana
Teresa Fernandez depicting a woman “washing” the beach at the U.S.-Mexican
border with her hair; it’s a striking image that demands both that we engage
with the current debates over immigration, and the politics of women and labor.
In addition to Fernandez, ChicaChic features the work of Angelica Muro, Mitsy
Ávila Ovalles, Favianna Rodriguez, and Shizu Saldamando. The work of these five
artists varies greatly, but they all are responding visually to the shifting
needs of their communities in novel ways. The exhibit is guest-curated by Raquel
de Anda, formerly of Galería de la Raza. “ChicaChic is about stepping beyond the
boundaries of identity, challenging stereotypes about what it means to be
Chicana,” says de Anda. “It’s about the fluidity of identity and the need for
new kinds of images in a fast-paced, media-saturated society.”