Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

March 10, 2024

Latinx art is an integral yet thus far significantly under-recognized part of American art. The MFAH understands “Latinx art” as work produced by artists of Latin American descent who were born or are active in the United States. This includes but is not limited to those who identify as Chicana/o, Puerto Rican/Nuyorican, Mexican American, Dominican American, Cuban American, as well as others born in Central, South America, or the Caribbean who have made the United States their country of residence. Despite Latinx artists’ critical contributions to U.S. art histories, their work has not benefitted from the same level of representation and visibility as their peers in mainstream arts institutions or university classrooms. The MFAH and the ICAA are working to address this erasure via ¡Aquí Estamos!: Latinx Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. This multi-year, institution-wide initiative aims to transform this emergent field by opening critical pathways for the study and exhibition of Latinx art and artists within a major encyclopedic museum. 

¡Aquí Estamos! will provide hands-on training for future museum and research professionals focused on Latinx art by placing fellows in Museum departments, including Curatorial, Conservation, Learning and Interpretation, and the ICAA. Mentored by key MFAH staff, emerging professionals and scholars will participate in an array of projects, including: 

• researching artworks in the MFAH collection and works being considered for acquisition;  
• assisting with exhibition-related research and preparation;  
• performing conservation studies, documentation, and/or related research;  
• conducting oral histories or creating written documentation of collection objects;  
• assisting with various object interpretation modes for museum audiences;  
• working with partner organizations on the collection and digitization of documents for the ICAA Latinx Papers Project. 

Fellows will benefit from the unique and unprecedented opportunity to engage in the deep study of Latinx art with a cohort of ¡Aquí Estamos! fellows. Opportunities for collaboration and professional development will be facilitated by regular project meetings, workshops centered on critical issues in the field, and collaborative projects ranging from the development of collection object studies, interpretative materials, public programs, and/or publications.

A component of the larger ¡Aquí Estamos! initiative, the ICAA Latinx Papers Project seeks to significantly expand the representation of Latinx art within the groundbreaking Documents of Latin American and Latino Art digital platform. The Latinx Papers Project will focus on the preservation and dissemination of primary source materials —correspondence, manifestos, exhibition reviews, exhibition pamphlets, journal articles, etc.— that are critical to the field of Latinx art. A targeted selection of documents will be culled from key repositories across the United States. Participating ICAA Research Fellows will work with the ICAA headquarters and with partner repositories in Texas, California, Washington D.C., the Midwest, and the greater New York region to digitize, research, annotate, and publish thousands of additional documents to the Documents Project site.

FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES 

Key to the ¡Aquí Estamos! initiative are emerging researchers who are well-positioned to make a significant contribution to this initiative and the field at large. Research fellowship opportunities recognize the importance of early career exposure to curatorial, conservation, and museum interpretation practices as well as archival and primary source research in cultivating the next generation of scholars and curators in the field of Latinx art.  

Eligibility: 

Fellowships are offered to students at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels depending on the specifications of the individual position. Full-time and part-time positions are available.  

Please note that all applicants must reside and be eligible to work in the United States. Consult each fellowship description for additional eligibility requirements and fellowship terms. 

Applications for the 2024/25 fellowship cycle closed on May 3rd, 2024.

Notifications will be sent by May 24th. 

Questions? Please contact icaa@mfah.org.  

Check back here or on the ICAA’s Instagram for updates. 

 

¡Aquí Estamos! Latinx Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the ICAA Latinx Papers Project receive generous funding from:

The Mellon Foundation

The Terra Foundation for American Art