Zona Maco 2020: To Focus More on Women in Arts

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According to an article from Belatina, the largest contemporary art exhibit in Latin America known as Zona Maco is being held two times a year in Mexico City. This had become a tourist center involving art exhibition in the Latin American region.

The art fair event was established in 2002. It was founded by Zéica García. 

García built the program into four events. The categories of each event are antiques, art, design, and photography.

For the Zona Maco art exhibit 2020, it will compose of galleries and exhibitors originating from 26 countries from America, Asia, and Europe. The exhibit will occur from February 5 to February 9 at the Centro Citibanamex.

The Zona Maco 2019 Controversy on Women Representation in Art

At the end of the fair held in 2019, an issue with the art presented in the exhibit was criticized. Last year's art fair was reported to have showcased a low number of representations of women in arts. 

Correcting Last Year's Mistake

The issue of the low representation of women in arts last year had inspired the managers of this year's art fair to make a difference and correct the issue from last year. 

The 'Feminist Projection' by Ana de Orbegoso, the oil paintings of Çagla Ulusoy, and the drawings of Ángeles Agrela are some of the artworks that highlighted the world's issue with gender violence, especially in Mexico. In Mexico, approximately 10 women are being murdered daily. It was reported that there were more or less 4,000 femicides in 2019 in Mexico alone.

According to the institutional relations coordinator of Zona Maco Eloísa Hernández, there have been efforts by the program to take up those practices. However, over time, historiography had overlooked the matter. It had forgotten to provide more visibility to the people who had been disregarded due to their gender, location, or race. Hernández stressed the importance of the participation of women in the program.

In the history of art in the Latin American region, women artists are frequently overlooked. Their inclusions in great compendiums and catalogs often go unnoticed. This case is also similar to other artists all over the world. 

In the 21st century's third feminist wave where it has been perceived in different points of view, women's opportunities to take a lead role in art exhibit events had expanded. They are presenting themselves as either the artist of artworks and as subjects of masterpieces.

 According to Andrea Giunta, a researcher from Argentina and the writer of the book 'Feminismo y Arte Latinoamericano,' the empowerment of women through art originates from the consciousness of power mechanisms that exempts women and the identification of the common areas where they are not allowed to work. She expressed in her book published in 2018 that the consciousness allows for the enactment towards equality in representation.

Current Art Scene Worldwide for Women 

This is the current situation of the art scene worldwide for the representation of women in arts. Initiatives such as the Museu de Arte de São Paulo had resulted in the exhibition of 296 artworks of women artists. Also, the establishment of the Feminist Art Coalition in the US had impacted the representation of women in the art scene. The Feminist Art Coalition is a program with at least 50 museums committing to promote gender equality and the fair representation of women in art.