Panel Discussion: Coco Fusco, Aleta Ringlero, Reuben Naranjo
Friday October 9, 6-7:30pm
Center for Creative Photography Auditorium
Join us for a panel discussion between interdisciplinary artist & writer Coco Fusco, curator & art historian Aleta Ringlero, and artist & scholar Reuben Naranjo, on the occasion of Fusco’s exhibition Only in Darkness Can you See the Stars mapping three decades of her work at MOCA Tucson. The panelists will discuss Two Undiscovered Amerindians Visit the West (1992-94), an early performance made by Fusco in collaboration with Guillermo Gómez-Peña, as well as the history of ethnographic displays and the representation of Indigenous peoples in museums.
Register for the event here
This event takes place at the Center for Creative Photography Auditorium: 1030 N Olive Rd, Tucson, AZ 85719
Co-presented by MOCA Tucson, the University of Arizona School of Art, the Center for Creative Photography, VASE, and Arizona Arts.
About the panelists
Dr. Coco Fusco (b. 1960, New York City) is a visual artist, writer, pedagogue, and public intellectual. Fusco’s work emerged in the early 1990s as a central cultural critic of contemporary Cuban visual culture. Fusco’s performances and videos have been presented at the 56th Venice Biennale, the Sharjah Biennale, Frieze Special Projects, Basel Unlimited, three Whitney Biennials (2022, 2008, and 1993), and several other international exhibitions. Her works are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Walker Art Center, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Whitney Museum, the Centre Pompidou, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona. She is the author of Dangerous Moves: Performance and Politics in Cuba (2015), English is Broken Here: Notes on Cultural Fusion in the Americas (1995), The Bodies that Were Not Ours and Other Writings (2001), and A Field Guide for Female Interrogators (2008). She is the editor of Corpus Delecti: Performance Art of the Americas (1999) and Only Skin Deep: Changing Visions of the American Self (2003). She currently teaches at the Cooper Union School of Art in New York City and contributes regularly to The New York Review of Books and Hyperallergic.
Dr. Reuben Naranjo is a member of the Tohono O’odham nation of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. He has a PhD in American Indian Studies – University of Arizona, Tucson, holds a minor in studio ceramics and fiber arts and is a traditional and contemporary artist working in both mediums. His interests range from linguistics, modern design, to ethnographic photography. His personal and scholarly focus is American Indian tribes and their cultures, all along the U.S. – Mexico international boundary.
Dr. Aleta Ringlero (enrolled Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community) is a curator, author, art historian, and calligrapher who previously directed Native American Public Programs for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. She held positions including Exhibit Research Specialist for the California State Railroad Museum and Archaeological Resources Coordinator for the Tahoe National Forest. Ringlero also developed public collections of Indigenous art for several establishments including Casino Arizona, Talking Stick Resort, Coyote Valley Casino, and Snoqualmie Casino.