Our kawsay waqaychaqkuna have been busy this semester, installing and then engaging multiple audiences with the Dancing with Devils: Latin American Masks Traditions. Since the Faculty Preview on September 9, we have welcomed over 160 people from the OSU community and beyond to the exhibition!
Trying on a papier-mache mask
The Faculty Preview invited OSU instructors from across the university to visit the exhibition, talk to featured photojournalist Leonardo Carrizo – who has been an instrumental partner throughout! – and brainstorm curricular connections for their courses this fall. About 50 faculty members attended, along with many of the K’acha Willaykuna co-PIs. We are thrilled that several have followed up with the Barnett Center to book the Collaboratory space and bring their students to the exhibition this semester.
Photo by Anna Truax
Photo by Anna Truax
On Wednesday, September 21, we held our Exhibition Opening in conjunction with the Wex’s Open House, inviting OSU students and the general public to flow between the two events and experience the many exhibition-based opportunities for learning and engagement at the university. Here we again welcome about 50 people, including a number of students visiting the exhibition to extend their research projects! During this event we screened Carrizo’s short documentary, Diablada Pillareña, which provides greater insight and context into the photographs on view.
Sharing their masks
Contributing feedback
We also held a public Open House on Sunday, September 25 specifically geared towards families, which was a huge success! Over 60 visitors of all ages attended, creating papier-maché masks (one young visitor, pictured below, made sure to include four horns after learning that four is the number that the most powerful diablitos have), play-doh miniature masks, and paper diablito figurines designed by master mask-maker Italo Espín. Still others took inspiration from the various masks on view to draw their own mask designs, and kawsay waqaychaqkuna Anais and Victor led the group in an abbreviated diablo dance through the room!
Participants dancing a diablada dance
Showing off a four-horned diablito mask
In each of these events, visitors shared in knowledge exchanges with the curators and artist in a non-hierarchical dialogue that counters the traditional museum exhibition model in which visitors simply consume the information presented. Instead, visitors to Dancing with Devils were able to contribute their own insights and factual knowledge, sometimes through direct conversation with kawsay waqaychaqkuna and other times through post-it note comments left next to the wall labels! We are grateful to the folks who are helping us further our knowledge and understanding of these mask traditions, and invite people to continue in this exchange throughout the exhibition.
Visitor contributions to the wall text
Check out this news story highlighting the exhibition as well: