We are excited to have a special visit from artists and printmakers “Xilotropico” & Carlos Barberena!
Xilotrópico is a pedagogical printmaking project that emerged in the midst of the 2014 student protest and since then has ignored borders and promoted learning-by-making as a way of rethinking ourselves from the inside through horizontal, collaborative, reflective and intuitive practice. Printmaking as a north of struggle; the vindication of the craft and the image through the gouges. The workshop and the feedback of knowledge as our maximum barricade and resistance against this capitalist monster. Graphics as an excuse to imagine the American continent unified in resistance and re-existence.
Xilotrópico graduated from the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (Santiago, Chile) with a Bachelor's degree in Education and Bachelor's Degree in Visual Arts (2017).
Since 2016 he has been building this idea of itinerant life and printmaking.
Carlos Barberena (b.1972) is a Contemporary Nicaraguan Printmaker best known for his relief prints and the use of images from pop culture, as well as from political and cultural tragedies.
Barberena has exhibited individually in Costa Rica, Estonia, France, Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain and The United States of America, his work also has been shown in Art Biennials, Museums, Galleries and Cultural Centers around the world.
He has received various awards, most notably "2e Prix de la 13e Biennale Internationale d'Estampe Contemporaine de Trois-Rivieres" Québec, Canada; "Best in Show - PrintAustin: The Contemporary Print" 2023 Juried Exhibition, The Art Galleries at ACC, Austin, TX; "DNSPE Purchase Award 2022" Bradbury Art Museum, Jonesboro, AR; "The Elizabeth Catlett Memorial Award" 2021 MAPC Juried Exhibition, University of Iowa; - Second Prize - in the "9th Annual Art Competition" at the Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago; "SPARK Grant Award", Chicago Artist Coalition and the Joyce Foundation; "Cross Currents: Intercambio Cultural, Chicago - Havana, 2017-2019". MacArthur Foundation International Connections; “National Printmaking Award 2012” given by the Nicaraguan Institute of Culture in Managua, Nicaragua; “Parchemin d’Honneur”, 8 Triennale Mondial de l’Estampe et de la Gravure Originale, AMAC, Chamalieres, Auvergne, France, "Revueltas Award" for Visual Arts 2019, Pilsen Fest, Chicago, and the award- poster for the Ecology and Human Rights in Banana Plantations in Costa Rica, given by GEBANA in Berlin, Germany.