We Are Voices of Other Voices

Coordinated by Adrián Guerrero

May 10 – October 4, 2025

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The textile tradition in Oaxaca, Mexico, dates back to pre-Hispanic times (consider the backstrap loom), and was later enriched by the arrival of the Spanish to the territory. The craft, according to each region, underwent changes in its execution, both in materials and tools that were developed according to the needs and abilities of each group. In the town of Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, there is a tradition of making textiles by loom, using mainly wool and pigmenting to form pure, natural elements. The craft is currently preserved and performed communally by the families who live in that region.

Under the direction of Ricardo Pinto and María Saldaña, artisans from this region partnered with contemporary artists to develop a series of pieces for this exhibition. Through this process, the creatives entered a dialogue, becoming apprentices of each other's practices. The artisans learned new ways of designing, and the artists adapted to traditional craft techniques, using their dialogue to create pieces that respect and emphasize the origin of the craft as well as the contemporary art that emerged from working together. This project aims to respect tradition with all its consequences. It involves a generational transmission of knowledge and practice, resulting in mutual rejuvenation and the continuity of a craft as a way of life for the community. Simultaneously, it encourages the innovation of contemporary art pieces.

The result of this collaboration between artist and artisan is this exhibit; built by the collaboration between NADI (Ricardo Pinto and María Saldaña) and Colpaso Art Project, a space based in Guadalajara, Jalisco that promotes, manages, and spreads contemporary art through its dialogue between currently used crafts and the artisanal crafts that served as the foundational principles of what is being made today. We Are Voices of Other Voices is the collective work of the Zapotec community and the talent of nine contemporary artists. Each artist is exhibiting one or two textile pieces made through this collaboration, as well as a piece of their own current work. We hope you walk away from this exhibit with a stronger sense of the traditional work of artisans and how those primary practices have evolved into the art we see today. By presenting traditional pieces in the exhibition, alongside the tools and materials of pigmenting, we aim to tell the story of the intersection between traditional and contemporary. The pieces exhibited here were produced in 2024 and were exclusively crafted for the exhibit, We Are Voices of Other Voices.