Tomorrow evening, Thursday, September 17, from 6-8pm, the Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College will host a reception for Regina Jose Galindo: Bearing Witness. As part of the reception, the artist, visiting from Guatemala, will perform a newly commissioned work entitled A Latino Near You. This performance will take place throughout the evening so no need to arrive at a particular time.

Regina Jose Galindo, Alud/Avalanche

The exhibition is challenging, both in concept and method. Galindo is a performance artist who often pushes her body to the limit to create works that depict the atrocities she has experienced, first living through two decades of a 36-year civil war in Guatemala, marked by military dictatorships, the genocide of indigenous people, and corruption. What has remained is a residual culture of violence, particularly brutal against women. As an internationally acclaimed artist however, Galindo’s work is not limited in scope to Guatemala, as she now creates works focused on human rights issues globally.

Regina Jose Galindo, Caparazon/Shell

If you come to this event, expect to be challenged – even in terms of the “art” on display. The exhibition features documentation – photos, videos, and some performance-related objects – of 23 previous performances spanning 15 years.

Regina Jose Galindo, Libertad Condicional/Conditional Freedom