On June 26 and 27, MXLA brings the best minds in the arts, economic and government sectors together to encourage continued collaboration and market vitality between the U.S.A. and Mexico, at REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater) in downtown L.A.
Participants include writer and film director Rodrigo García; Tom Rothman, Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group; Marisol Schulz, Director, Guadalajara Book Fair; Ingrid Moye of Mexico City and Berlin-based architectural studio Zeller & Moye; artist and CalArts alumnus Ruben Ortiz Torres; and economist Julio Santaella, President of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico.
Valencia, CA, May 25, 2017—As the second largest Mexican community in the world, Los Angeles is uniquely positioned at the center of this cross-cultural exchange. Exploring the economic and cultural value of Los Angeles’ and Mexico’s very special binational relationship, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, ProMexico, and the Los Angeles Times are pleased to announce MXLA Creative Economy Forum. This two-day symposium will explore the substance and economic impact of cultural trade across the USA-Mexico border. A distinguished roster of artists and cultural leaders from both Mexico and the USA will come together to explore cross-border influences in film, publishing, visual art, music, youth culture and design/architecture.
MXLA takes place on Monday, June 26, from 9:30 am to 6 pm and Tuesday, June 27 from 9:30 am to 4 pm at REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater) in downtown Los Angeles. Attendance for MXLA is free. Seating is limited. Click here for reservations.
Declaring 2017 the year of Mexico in Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti proclaimed, “from Boyle Heights to Pacoima, San Pedro to Reseda, and everywhere in between—Mexico’s impact on L.A.’s history, art, culture, and cuisine cannot be overstated.” Los Angeles is now home to 3.7 million people of Mexican descent.
CalArts President Emeritus Steven Lavine spearheaded MXLA as part of the Institute’s Latin American Initiative. “Through generative dialogue and exchange, MXLA will spark activity, inspire innovation and build binational bridges, said Dr. Lavine. “At this pivotal time in U.S.-Mexico relations, CalArts seeks to demonstrate the interconnectedness of these two countries’ economic development and creative production.”
“It is important to raise awareness of how this whole region is intertwined,” said Patricia Gonzalez, CalArts’ Assistant Vice President for Special Projects and Board Relations. “We are really one. This flow of ideas and creativity will continue. It is unstoppable—and regenerates all of us on both sides of the border.”
MXLA unties leading voices in the arts, economics and government to discuss this vibrant interdependency. Speakers include CalArts President Ravi Rajan; filmmaker Jonás Cuarón; the Mexican Institute of Sound’s Camilo Lara; Director of Cultrual Difusion at Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) Jorge Volpi; Director of Mexico City’s Kurimanzutto Gallery Raul Zorilla; Alma Ruiz, Senior Fellow, Sotheby's Institute of Art/Claremont Graduate University; artists Carla Fernández, Janet Sternburg and Harry Gamboa Jr.; Pacho Paredes, Director of Museo Universitario El Chopo, UNAM; Josh Kun, MacArthur Award recipient and Professor of Communication in the Annenberg School at USC; and Ruth Estévez Gomez, Director, REDCAT Gallery, among many other influential artists and thinkers.
Cultural scholars Benjamín Juárez Echenique, Juan Villoro, David Lida, Josh Kun and Carmen Boullosa will publish accounts of key findings from the conference in English and Spanish.
Mexico and the United States are both powerful creative engines in the Western Hemisphere. Mexico is the number one Latin American creative exporter. Its cultural infrastructure is highly developed, boasting almost 3,000 museums and cultural centers, the greatest number of UNESCO sites in the Americas and Latin America’s leading film industry. Americans for the Arts reported that 702,771 North American businesses were involved in the creation or distribution of the arts in 2015 and employed 2.9 million people.
At the symposium, simultaneous English/Spanish interpretation will be facilitated by Antena Los Angeles.
To learn more about MXLA, please visit mxla2017.calarts.edu
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) has set the pace for educating professional artists since 1970. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater—CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection, and the development of new forms and expressions. As successive generations of faculty and alumni have helped shape the landscape of contemporary arts, the Institute first envisioned by Walt Disney encompasses a vibrant, eclectic community with global reach, inviting experimentation, independent inquiry, and active collaboration and exchange among artists, artistic disciplines and cultural traditions.