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Thinking Ibero-America: Modernity and Indigenism - Ticio Escobar in conversation with John Kraniauskas

When: —
Venue: Birkbeck Clore Management Centre

No booking required

Under the dominance of European and then Creole elites, the people of Latin America have historically looked to Europe and North America as referents for cultural modernity. Until recently, everything related to indigenous people and culture was associated with the idea of underdevelopment. However, with globalisation, contemporary cultural discourses have begun incorporating notions of diversity, difference, inclusion and cultural rights; this allows for the articulation of new critical visions such as that of Paraguayan Ticio Escobar.

A lawyer, curator, teacher, art critic and cultural promoter, Ticio Escobar was Minister of Culture of Paraguay (2008-2012). Prior to that, he was Director of Culture of the Municipality of Asuncion (1991-1996) and founder of the Museum of Indigenous Art. He is the author of the National Law of Culture of Paraguay and President of the Paraguayan Section of the International Association of Art Critics. He has published numerous books on Paraguayan and Latin American art. He currently directs the Centro de Artes Visuales / Museo del Barro in Asunción.

John Kraniauskas is Professor of Latin American Studies at Birkbeck, Univeristy of London. Expert in literature and cultural studies, he is the author of numerous essays and translations. His latest book is Capitalism and its Discontents: Power and Accumulation in Latin American Culture (University of Wales Press, 2017). He met Ticio Escobar on a trip to Paraguay during the days of Stroessner, as a member of the Parliamentary Group on Human Rights.

Tickets:

The event will be in Spanish and English.

The Thinking Ibero-America cycle is a cooperation between the Instituto Cervantes and Canning House, with the collaboration of the Center for Iberian and Latin American Visual Studies (CILAVS), Birkbeck, University of London, and Birkbeck Institute of the Humanities (BIH).

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Contact phone: 0207 631 6612