Cultural Affairs

Over the past decade, as the Canada-Mexico political relationship has broadened and the commercial relationship multiplied, so too have bilateral cultural relations expanded and diversified. Canadian artists and performers have become increasingly prominent on the Mexican cultural scene. At the same time, personal exchanges and collaborations between artists and cultural personalities are becoming ever more frequent.

Canadian cultural presentations in the last few years have ranged from large extravaganzas such as Cirque du Soleil and the National Arts Centre Orchestra under the direction of Pinchas Zukerman to captivating productions of plays by Larry Tremblay and Marc Michel Bouchard and thrilling performances by Avril Lavigne and the band Simple Plan. Mexican audiences have been captivated. In 2002, as country of honour for the 30th edition of the Cervantino International Festival, Canada made its presence felt with some 250 performing artists, two exhibitions by Aboriginal artists and an impressive delegation of writers. The Atwood-Roy Chair, established in 2002 at Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM) to raise the profile of Canadian literature has welcomed such internationally recognized figures as Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje. Most recently, under the theme “Contemporary Women’s Poetry in Canada,” the Chair highlighted the work of the poets Yolande Villemaire and Stephanie Bolster. Canada Weeks in Guadalajara and Monterrey have brought Canadian culture to a wider Mexican audience. Canadian visual arts exhibitions in Mexico have ranged from the Group of Seven to Claire Weissman Wilks to Ed Pien. Canada has also been active with new media presentations, making a big splash in 1995 with the Net@works exhibit at Mexico’s Centro Multimedia and most recently through an installation by Robin Minard at the Museo Tamayo.

Canadian and Mexican artists and performers are also getting to know each other. Since 1995, the Banff Centre for the Arts has partnered with Mexico’s National Fund for Culture and the Arts (FONCA) to invite Mexican artists from such disciplines as music, visual arts, writing, dance and translation to participate in workshops at the Centre, thereby offering a space for creative inspiration. Increased personal contact between Mexican and Canadian artists is providing the opportunity for artists from the two countries to undertake collaborative projects.

In short, Canadian culture is big in Mexico, and we invite to you to visit the cultural calendar of the Canadian Embassy in Mexico to see what's coming up in the next few months.

Links

General (Government and national agencies)

Directories and Encyclopedias

Visual Arts

Cinema and Television

Books and Literature

Dance, Performing Arts, Theatre, Music

Footer

Date Modified:
2008-06-16