Book launch for Momentum: Art & Ecology in Contemporary Latin America

Happy to hear that this new publication, developed over the past four years, is finally out in the world!

My chapter, “Imagining Post-Extractivist Futures,” explores how contemporary artistic, curatorial and collaborative projects are doing important critical and imaginative work both to expose the destructive logics of extractivism and to nurture relations and actions for postextractive futures. I explore contemporary art projects that delink from the commodification of nature, confront socioenvironmental and cognitive injustice, cultivate ecologies of knowledges and structures for biocultural conservation, asking: If extractivism perpetuates the logics of terra nullius and expansion of the one world world, how do artists work to render present and perceptible those worlds and lives affected by such violent negation? What generative worldings emerge from the intersections of artistic practice, fieldwork in fragile ecosystems, collaboration, and political resistance that help imagine postextractive worlds?


Momentum investigates how Latin American artists engage with their natural environments, addressing themes such as innovative relationships with the nonhuman, land disputes, colonial legacies, and visions for the future. While showcasing contemporary artists and collectives, the publication highlights pioneering figures from the 1960s and ’70s, including Cecilia Vicuña, Frans Krajcberg, Juan Downey, and the artists of Centro de Arte y Comunicación (CAYC). The book also includes a selection of fundamental texts by anthropologists, Indigenous activists, and sociologists that enrich the reader’s understanding of ecological debates across disciplines.

Edited by Inés Katzenstein, María del Carmen Carrión, and Madeline Murphy Turner, Momentum features contributions from influential voices in ecology and art, including Julieta González, Graciela Speranza, Camila Marambio, Jens Andermann, Irene V. Small, Miguel A. López, and Lisa Blackmore, among others. It is the first publication produced by the Cisneros Institute at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The launch happens in person on Wednesday December 11, 6:00–8:00 p.m. at MoMA, Mezzanine, Theater 3

More info here

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *