In Two Chicago Exhibitions, Liberation Takes the Floor
Two Chicago exhibitions—“Dispossessions in the Americas: The Extraction of Bodies, Land, and Heritage from La Conquista to the Present” at Wrightwood 659 and “Dancing the Revolution: From Dancehall to Reggaetón” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago—address colonial dispossession and collective liberation through art and sound-based works. Wrightwood 659 opens with Ecuadorian artist Saskia Calderón’s video performance “Coro de plantas extintas” (2020), which mourns endangered and extinct plant species, setting a solemn tone for a show of more than 40 works critiquing the legacy of European colonial expansion since the early 16th century. MCA Chicago opens with Puerto Rican artist Radamés “Juni” Figueroa’s participatory installation “Karaoke El Nuevo Horizonte” (2014/25), inviting visitors to sing Caribbean genres during the museum’s free hours as part of an exhibition featuring around 50 contemporary artists. The article highlights Ana Mendieta’s Super 8 film “Burial Pyramid” (1974), made in Oaxaca, Mexico, and notes how the paired shows move from documenting harm to proposing joy, dance, and community as forms of resistance.
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This story was covered in Looted Legacies, Museum Scandals, and AI Showdowns