Poetas Y Pintores: Contemporary Artists Conversing with Verse

Utah State Today press release: Friday, March 21, 2008

Poetas Y Pintores Exhibition in Merrill-Cazier Foyer at USU

LOGAN—The Friends of Merrill-Cazier Library at Utah State University will host a reception Thursday, April 3, to celebrate the opening of a traveling exhibition, Poetas Y Pintores: Contemporary Artists Conversing with Verse. 

Organized by the Center for Women’s InterCultural Leadership at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, and the Institute of Latino Studies, University of Notre Dame, the exhibition will be on view April 1 through May 4 in the foyer of Merrill-Cazier Library. 

Poetas Y Pintores features 24 original works — 12 poems by 12 contemporary Latino poets, presented alongside 12 artworks by 12 contemporary Latino visual artists. The foyer installation will also include a reading area where viewers can enjoy books by each of the featured poets. 

The USU reception begins at 4:30 p.m. with a variety of activities running through 6 p.m. in the library foyer. Light refreshments will be served, and the event is free and open to the public. At 5 p.m., poets and exhibit co-coordinators Francisco Aragón and María Meléndez will discuss the genesis and development of the exhibition. Brief talks by artist Sam Coronado and poet Aleida Rodriguez will follow.

The reception will also feature a performance by corrido singers Anastacio and Elisa Castillo. Their presentation is sponsored by the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies.

The Poetas Y Pintores exhibition and public program are supported by the Utah Arts Council with funding from the State of Utah and the National Endowment for the Arts. The public program is also funded by the Utah Humanities Council. The Poetas Y Pintores exhibition is offered in conjunction with the O.C. Tanner Symposium, Celebracion: Latino Contributions to U.S. Culture, held April 2-4.

Source: Merrill-Cazier Library