On Sept. 3, the Biennial of the Americas will open an exhibition at Museo de las Americas (861 Santa Fe Dr., Denver, CO 80204) featuring artworks from 21 commissioned artists and award winners of the “Americas COVID-19 Memorial.”
“Americas COVID-19 Memorial” is an artist-driven project to acknowledge the grave impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the Americas (North, Central and South America and the Caribbean) with more than two million deaths collectively. The Americas account for approximately 13 percent of the world’s population and nearly 50 percent of the world’s COVID-19 deaths.
The Biennial commissioned 21 artists, who were paid $1,000 each, to contribute to the exhibition. Additionally, 186 members of the public, self-identifying from 15 countries and 22 states, submitted artworks. The artworks were featured on the Biennial website as a virtual exhibition from June 15 through July 18. During that time, members of the public could vote for a “public favorite.” An artist selection committee determined awards for juried first place, second place and third place.
The following is the list of award-winning artworks.
- Public Favorite ($2,000): Andrés Méndez, Colombia, “Sublimity”
- Public Favorite, Youth (most votes for a youth entry) ($100 art store gift certificate): Jude Martinez, Age 8, Lakewood, CO, “The Mask Doesn’t Represent Me”
- Juried First Place ($5,000): Ana María Hernando, Argentina, “In the Night, In the Day, At Every Hour (En la noche, en el día, a toda hora)
- Juried Second Place ($2,500): Fritzia Irízar, Mexico, “Darwin’s Arch, 1835-2021”
- Juried Third Place ($500): Elizabet Cerviño, Cuba, “Túnica”
The exhibition features work from the following commissioned artists.
Shazia Ahmad, Canada
Alejandro Almanza Pereda, Mexico
María José Arjona, Colombia
Tomás Brantmayer, Chile
Elizabet Cerviño, Cuba
Kezna Dalz, Canada
Becci Davis, USA
Detanico Lain, Brazil
Cory Feder, USA
Suzy González, USA
Cristóbal Gracia, Mexico
Ana María Hernando, Argentina/USA
Fritzia Irízar, Mexico
Addie Kae, USA
Marcos Lutyens, USA
Gilda Mantilla & Raimond Chaves, Peru/Colombia
Jorge Méndez Blake, Mexico
Suchitra Mattai, USA
Wilfredo Prieto, Cuba
Oscar Santillán, Ecuador
Jave Yoshimoto, USA
Curators Derrick Velasquez and María Paz Gaviria worked to identify the artists invited to submit to the project.
On Sept. 16 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Museo de las Americas, the Biennial and Museo will host “ConnectArte: Biennial Curator & Artist Talk,” a conversation with commissioned artists Suchitra Mattai and Ana María Hernando and curatorial advisor Derrick Velasquez to discuss the role of art in communicating and processing grief and their personal contributions to the memorial project.
