MFAH and ALMAAHH Announce Fall Festival Artists
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) and ALMAAHH, Advocates of a Latino Museum of Cultural and Visual Arts & Archive Complex in Houston, Harris County, have named the six artists selected to create temporary sculptures for the museum's Fall Festival.
In 2022, the MFAH launched a fall festival featuring large-scale alebrije sculptures. Last year, the museum partnered with ALMAAHH to launch an open call for Houston-based Latinx artists to propose sculptures for the Fall Festival. The 2023 selected artists were Krystle Holnes, Laura de León, Michelle Matamoros, Hugo Pérez, Rebo, and Ignacio Sanchez.
This year, the two organizations have partnered again and have commissioned sculptures by Loriana Espinel, Diana Gonzalez, Francisco Pereira, Jean Sandoval, Alma Soto, and Ashley Raquel Trejo. The artists will create sculptures inspired by myths and legends from across Latin America. Learn more about the selected artists and their sculptures below, via descriptions provided by the MFAH.
The sculptures will be on view in the MFAH's Cullen Sculpture Garden from November 10 through November 17. The free festival will take place on Sunday, November 10, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event will feature live music, dance performances, art-making activities, a Lotería game, and film screenings organized by the Houston Latino Film Festival.
, a Colombian-American artist, is inspired by exploring the intersection of art and culture. Ms. Espinel's sculpture will be an interactive Boa-Anaconda, highlighting the myth of the Anaconda-Milky Way. The legend tells us that the snake neither bites nor poisons her victims, but rather leaves them with a peculiar gait. Guests are invited to walk into the sculpture, which is decorated with orchids, butterflies, and roots inspired by the Amazon Rainforest.
, inspired by her Colombian history, will build a sculpture based on the famous Leyenda de Guatavita, a myth situated high in the mountains of Bogota, where the stories of El Dorado continue to be told. The sculpture will feature various images of the flora, fauna, and mythological creatures of Colombia.
will create a "tree of life" inspired by the Yekuana indigenous culture in southern Venezuela and northern Brazil. The sculpture will represent the connection between the material and spiritual, and will stand at nearly nine feet tall. It will include elements of fruits, rocks, and serpents. An architect by profession, Mr. Pereira wants to highlight the cultural and symbolic richness of the Yekuana.
, inspired by their time in Monterrey, will create the leyenda of El Hombre Pájaro. The sculpture will be a bird-like figure with a humanoid face, constructed with plastic found materials and other non-recyclables. The modern leyenda will represent the human heart yearning for the unusual in the mundane modern world.
based her sculpture on the Mayan/Pre-Columbian myth of the hummingbird. Constructed out of mud and maize, the sculpture invites visitors to observe and interact with the hummingbirds and red hibiscus. The interactive experience will feature a messenger bin for visitors to connect their own message to the heavens.
