Tickets

CENTRAL Performance Festival - September, October, November 2024 - presented at Grace Exhibition Space, a space for creative experimentation that has been dedicated to performance for more than a decade. In this festival, attendees will be able to see twenty performances and works by artists who work from immateriality and the creation of ephemeral experiences from the body; exploring themes such as violence, migration, diaspora, the abuse of power, identity and other problems intrinsic to the human being.

Curated by the Mexican artist Pancho Lopez, this festival seeks to build a bridge between the Central American region, some Caribbean islands and one of the most important global stages in the world in terms of art and culture: New York City.

performances by

MANUEL TZOC (GUATEMALA)

Manuel Gabriel Tzoc Bucup was born in San Andrés Xecul, Totonicapán. He lives in Guatemala City as a K ́iche ́ Mayan poet and visual artist. His work consists of trying to metaphorize social realities from the identity intersectionality through poetic language and visual arts. The constant topics in his proposal are: gender, identity, body, origin, memory, language, image, object, sexual dissidence, and all possible hybridizations. He self-taught through workshops, diplomas, and readings of contemporary art and literature. He has several published books, book-objects and poetic artifacts in author’s edition. His texts appear in magazines and literary anthologies throughout Latin America, and has been invited to different national and international poetry festivals, alongside presenting his visual work in various local and foreign galleries as well as contemporary art shows.

ELIA ARCE (COSTA RICA)

Elia Arce works with installation, performance, experimental theater, writing, photography, video-art, and social sculpture. Her work has been presented in Cuba, London, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Canada and Mali. Her awards include: J. Paul Getty, Rockefeller Foundation, Fulbright and Ford Foundation; among others. A retrospective book on the first 25 years of her artistic work has been published by New York University’s Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. Her work is on display at the Museum of the Central Bank of Costa Rica, the Museum of Costa Rican Art, and the Cultural Center of Spain.

VANESSA HERNÁNDEZ GRACIA (PUERTO RICO)

Vanessa is an independent curator and co-director of the art space, El Lobi, who lives and works in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She earned an MFA in public art from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and a BFA in sculpture from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico. Artist residencies include: Résidence Internationale, ISBA (Besançon, France) and the Puerto Rico Artist Fellowship Program (MASS MoCA). She has received grants from Art Matters, Beta Local, NALAC, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and the Center for the Creative Economy / Mellon Foundation, and has given talks on contemporary art and performance in Martinique, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, and Puerto Rico. She has presented her performances in Puerto Rico, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Spain, France, the United States and Colombia.

NICOLAS DUMIT ESTÉVEZ (BRONX / DOMINICAN REPUBLIC)

Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel treads an elusive path that manifests itself performatively through creative experiences that he helps unfold within the quotidian. He is the founding director of The Interior Beauty Salon, an organism living at the intersection of creativity and healing. Nicolás served recently as a Senior Lecturer and Social Practice Artist in Residence in the Art and Art History Department at The University of Texas at Austin; and is currently a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow. He has exhibited or performed at Madrid Abierto/ARCO, IX Havana Biennial, PERFORMA 05/07/21, IDENSITAT, Prague Quadrennial, Pontevedra Biennial, Queens Museum, MoMA, Printed Matter, P.S. 122, Hemispheric Institute of Performance Art and Politics, City as Living Lab, Princeton University, Anthology Film Archives, El Museo del Barrio, Center for Book Arts, Longwood Art Gallery/BCA, The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Franklin Furnace, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.