It may seem strange to name a category of art by an ethnic, cultural and/or racial identifier. Yet considering a historical and persistent lack of representation for Latinx artists in academic scholarship and the art world today, the term currently functions as a reparative tool. Even though the term Latinx is itself disputed in certain circles, most academic, art and media venues have adopted the term as the gender neutral identifier to follow "Latino." Latinx art is not just one theme, genre, style or aesthetic but instead an associative gathering that attempts to spotlight a community of artists from diverse backgrounds.
Discussing identity labels and the usage of "Latinx," Tony Diaz, a well known ethnic studies advocate wrote, "Let me make something clear: our community does not need to pick one identity label so that others can more easily Google us. Society must profoundly imagine us more. The tragedy is that all the bickering about our identity labels can be addressed by taking just one Ethnic Studies course." In the absence of access to an ethnic studies course, the resources encompassed in this libguide will help you understand who and what is Latinx art. You can read more about the trajectory of Latinx as an identifier and its predecessor terms in this essay by Ed Morales, author of the widely discussed Latinx: The New Force in American Politics and Culture.
This guide was originally curated and written by Barbara Calderon.
Latinx Art Sessions was a program in 2019 co-presented by ArtCenter/South Florida and Pérez Art Museum Miami exploring Latinx identity in contemporary art.
This video from April 2018 discussed the significance of contemporary artists living and working in the U.S. of Latin American heritage, and their contributions to current understandings of the American experience. Panelists included Carmen Ramos, from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; Adriana Zavala, from Tufts University and the US Latinx Art Forum, Marcela Guerrero, from The Whitney Museum of American Art and artists Miguel Luciano and Lucia Hierro.
This conversation between Arlene Dávila and Adriana Zavala explores the arguments in Dávila's most recent book, Latinx Art: Artists, Markets, and Politics (Duke, 2020).
This Winter 2021 issue of the photography magazine Aperture was guest edited by Latinx curator Pilar Tompkins Rivas and features many Latinx photographers and art writers. You can read the physical copy at the main library or read the digital version in Flipster, which you can access and log into via our database list.