Germaine Gómez Haro

Since the time of the Mexican Revolution, women have occupied a noteworthy place in the arena of the arts. However, in spite of the battles fought by feminists, it is a fact that even today, women do not enjoy privileges and opportunities on the same par as men. Oaxaca, the bountiful land of artists, has not been the exception. Few female creators stand out among the sea of male artists, local as well as foreign, who successfully participate in exhibitions around the world. Because of this, we have reason to celebrate the creation of the female artistic group, Guenda (a Zapotec word meaning, "the soul of all things"), formed by five Mexicans and five foreigners, whose common point is Oaxaca, along with their passion for art. Some live permanently in that region, while others travel back and forth.

The Guenda group originated in 2003. Its members share not only a search for truth through art, but also an existential relfection as the foundation of their multifaceted and very personal work. Their principal objectives are the realization of joint projects which permit the exchange of ideas and the interrelation among their different creative mediums, as well as the search for diverse and alternative spaces for their exhibitions. Thus, they have woven a network of enriching experiences and involvements which have sparked a dynamic of dialogues and connections. Sandra Garfias, who also directs the "Gruppe 13" in Germany, has coordinated the five exhibits which Guenda has presented with much success in that country.

Through very distinct mediums and styles, the ten members of the group express their surrounding reality, along with their most intimate dreams and desires, and induce the viewer to open the imagination and to sharpen perceptions of what is real and what is imaginary.

The dialogue among the works of these ten artists proposes a bond between each of the artists private lives and collective experience. Their artistic motivations come together in their desire to actively participate in national and international art circles. Their work reveals the necessity to express women's art, which is not the same as feminine art. After five presentations in Germany, the Guenda group is making a name in Mexico in the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ateneo de Yucatán, and in its place of origin, Oaxaca. Guenda is a group of allied souls risking passionate, honest and soulful work that is sufficiently evocative to command the viewer´s attention.

GRUPO GUENDA

2003

Intercambio Cultural, Galería del "Grupo 13" en Herzebrock-Clarholz, Alemania.

2004

Viaje sin distancia, Ayuntamiento de la ciudad de Harsewinkel, Alemania.

Plática sobre la globalización y su influencia en el matriarcado juchiteco, Profa. Dra. Veronica Bennholdt-Thomsen.

Diálogo con el foro de la mujer en la ciudad de Harsewinkel, "Forum Harsewinkel meets Guenda", Alemania.

Viaje sin distancia, Universidad de Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Alemania.

Plática de la Dra. Thea Stroot de la Universidad de Bielefeld sobre su viaje a Juchitán, Alemania.

Plática de la Socióloga Bárbara Jantzen del Centro Interdisiplinario de Investigación de la Universidad de Bielefeld, sobre "El proceso de transformación intelectual en México", Alemania.

Viaje sin Distancia, Pak Art Meets Guenda, en el convento y castillo de la ciudad de Willebadessen, Alemania.

2005

Viaje sin Distancia, Galerie Remise, Halle, Alemania.

Taller de Creatividad en las Artes Aplicadas, impartido por Rowena Galavitz, Centro de Reclusión Femenil del Estado de Oaxaca, Tlacolula, Oaxaca, México.

10 Artistas Contemporáneas, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ateneo de Yucatán, Mérida, México.

El Alma de las Cosas, Galería Quetzalli, Oaxaca, México.