Located in Zacualpan de Amilpas, Morelos, Instituto Tropical México is a trans disciplinary artistic initiative at the convergence between art, feeding systems, science and indigenous knowledge.
- Artistic Research Residency Program
- School of Earth. Future- Ancestral Pedagogies of the Land
Instituto Tropical México is a trans-disciplinary artistic initiative at the convergence between art, feeding systems, ecology and indigenous knowledge. It offers residencies for local and international artists and researchers, workshops and seminars dealing with ecosystem restoration, promoting local and collective eco-social transformation.
As a fertile ground for experimentation and reflection, Instituto Tropical México explores the possibilities of the Symbiocene-, a speculative future geological era in which humans and non humans live in collaboration and symbiosis.
Building upon the strong historical bond between Austria and México and specifically on the legacy of Ivan Illic's * Centro Intercultural de Documentación (CIDOC) which operated in Morelos from 1966 to 1976. Instituto Tropical Mexico seeks to strengthen the connection between art and eco-social transformation, cultivating solidarity, dialogue and meaningful exchange between Europe and Abya Yala, between the global north and the global south.
*Ivan Illich (1926–2002) was an Austrian-born intellectual known for his radical critiques of modern institutions. He worked a as a catholic priest ( liberation theology) with latino inmigrants in N.Y before moving to Mexico and founding CIDOC in Cuernavaca, Morelos. Bridging theology, political theory, and philosophy of technology, his thought remains influential in debates about autonomy, sustainability, human freedom, and the possibility of a meaningful life.He is often considered a precursor or important influence on decolonial thought.
ARTISTIC RESEARCH RESIDENCY PROGRAM
Located in the heart of Zacualpan de Amilpas, the Artistic Research residency program acknowledges the colonial imaginary embedded in Morelos, an agrarian context shaped by colonial plantation and by the agrarian reform of the Mexican revolution. The program places dialogue with various communities of people and plants at the core of its practice.
We select artists that want to engage in processes of exchange with local artists and artisans, with fig trees and with other plants.
International guests and local neighbors are invited to stay, reflect, and imagine fair, collaborative artistic processes that engage with local artist, artisans and with ancestral knowledges at large.
THE SCHOOL OF EARTH
A temporary School of transdisciplinary collective artistic practices embedded in the land. The project unfolds as a horizontal school—a place where knowledge is exchanged, traditions are reimagined, and the many ‘hands’ shaping creative processes, both human and more-than-human, are recognized and honored.
The School of Earth has a yearly project that is centered on learning from indigenous agricultural practices as situated pedagogical tools that have the potential to transform and renew relations with the land and its inhabitants. From this practical situation such as learning a specific way of planting or harvesting, a group of artists and researchers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds engage in processes of knowledge transmission and knowledge emergence.
Like the magmatic force of the Popocatepetl, the volcano that looms over Zacualpan de Amilpas, diverse practices and worldviews converge, flow, and erupt—giving rise to new forms of expression, resistance, and possibility.
“None of us is better than all of us together”—Piripkura* peoples
*The Piripkura are an indigenous peoples inhabitin the Piripkura Indigenous Territory in Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Images of the research of residents Jozef Wouters and Lilah John, at the local workshops of Don Clemente Pizarro, Clay and traditional pottery from the village of Amayuca and SOAME, Association of female weavers of the indigenous village of Hueyapan.
Founder
Joaquin Piña Armendariz (13.03.1945-09.03.2025) was a distinguished Mexican businessman and patron of the arts. He established the Instituto Tropical in Zacualpan de Amilpas, on the land his father had acquired in the late 1950s. A self-taught agricultural researcher, Piña dedicated his life to studying and cultivating tropical and exotic fruits and vegetables, developing numerous projects that explored sustainable and innovative farming practices.
In his later years, he grew deeply concerned about Mexico’s environmental challenges—soil erosion, deforestation, and water pollution—and devoted his research to creating non-toxic agrochemicals and natural fertilization methods.
As an arts supporter, he helped foster the permanent collection of the Instituto Tropical. He envisioned the Institute as a space for the cross-pollination of artistic and restorative practices, bridging ecology, science, and art in service of a more harmonious relationship with the land.
In his later years, he grew deeply concerned about Mexico’s environmental challenges—soil erosion, deforestation, and water pollution—and devoted his research to creating non-toxic agrochemicals and natural fertilization methods.
As an arts supporter, he helped foster the permanent collection of the Instituto Tropical. He envisioned the Institute as a space for the cross-pollination of artistic and restorative practices, bridging ecology, science, and art in service of a more harmonious relationship with the land.
Artistic Direction
Amanda Piña: Is an artist-researcher, educator and writer of Chilean- Mexican descent. She lives and works in Vienna since 2005 creating performances, curating transdisciplinary contexts and writing publications on what she describes as Endangered Human Movements. She led and curated the Viennese gallery space for performance nadaLokal from 2009 to 2018. She teaches in various university context in Europe such as SKH in Sweden and ImpulsTanz in Vienna. Her work has been presented, in theatres, galleries, museums and cultural centers around the world, such as Kunsthalle Wien, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain Paris, MUMOK -Museum of Modern Art Vienna, deSingel Arts Campus Antwerp, Museo Universitario del Chopo, México and GAM, Santiago de Chile among others. In 2024 she was visiting Professor of the Valesca Gert Chair of Choreography at the Free University Berlin.
Feeding Systems Development
Michel Jimenez: Studied Mechanic Engineering in Santiago de Chile ( USACH) and Applied Arts in Vienna ( Die Angewandte). He holds a master in Digital Arts (Die Angewandte). He works in various projects in art and agriculture. He has worked as art director, integral and light design in the creations of Amanda Pina as part of the association Studio Fortuna in Vienna and internationally.
His work is not concerned with his individual authorship focusing on collaborative practices in which he is concerned in the processes leading to the integral construction of an image-project-realization of an idea, be it in film, video, installation live or arts agriculture. Michel is project manager of the agricultural projects linked to Instituto Tropical aimed at researching and developing feeding systems, with a focus on figs and orange cultivation.
His work is not concerned with his individual authorship focusing on collaborative practices in which he is concerned in the processes leading to the integral construction of an image-project-realization of an idea, be it in film, video, installation live or arts agriculture. Michel is project manager of the agricultural projects linked to Instituto Tropical aimed at researching and developing feeding systems, with a focus on figs and orange cultivation.
Feedings Systems management
María del Carmen Calderón Resendiz was born in Cuautla Morelos and studied ommercial technique in Secretary work, She is mother of two daughters and works since 2023 at Instituto Tropical taking care of the facilities and feeding the residents with local organic produce derived from local farmers.
Associated Curator
Lorena Moreno Vera: Interdependent curator based in Vienna and Mexico City. Her work explores narratives of natural phenomena and physiological functions through feminist theory, philosophy of science, and traditional knowledge. She holds an MA in Critical Studies (Academy of Fine Arts Vienna) and has collaborated with festivals and institutions across Mexico, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, and Australia, including Museo Jumex, Tangente St. Pölten, Archipel, and Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). She is also part of laschulas, a multidisciplinary collective focused on research, community, and environmental awareness.
Associated Researcher/ Curatorial Adviser
Johannes Neurath holds an M.A. in Ethnology from the University of Vienna and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Since 1992, he has conducted ethnographic research among Huichol and Cora communities.
He is Senior Researcher (Investigador Titular C) at the Museo Nacional de Antropología, a Level III member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers, and a lecturer in the Graduate Program in Mesoamerican Studies at UNAM’s Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. From 2006 to 2012, he coordinated a Franco-Mexican project on the anthropology of art. He has been a visiting professor at the Collège de France (Laboratory of Social Anthropology) and at the University of Vienna(Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology). In 2014–2015, he received a Curatorial Fellowship from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
He is the author of Las fiestas de la Casa Grande: procesos rituales, cosmovisión y estructura social en una comunidad huichola (2002) and La vida de las imágenes. Arte huichol (2013).
He is Senior Researcher (Investigador Titular C) at the Museo Nacional de Antropología, a Level III member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers, and a lecturer in the Graduate Program in Mesoamerican Studies at UNAM’s Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. From 2006 to 2012, he coordinated a Franco-Mexican project on the anthropology of art. He has been a visiting professor at the Collège de France (Laboratory of Social Anthropology) and at the University of Vienna(Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology). In 2014–2015, he received a Curatorial Fellowship from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
He is the author of Las fiestas de la Casa Grande: procesos rituales, cosmovisión y estructura social en una comunidad huichola (2002) and La vida de las imágenes. Arte huichol (2013).
Associated Artist / Curatorial Adviser indigenous art projects
Juan José Ramírez, commonly known as “Katira,” is a prominent mara’akame (spiritual guide or shaman) and leader of the Wixárika (Huichol) nation in Mexico. He is from the community of La Laguna in San Andrés Cohamiata, Jalisco.
He is recognized as a cultural guardian for his work preserving traditional medicine, sacred ceremonies, and the ritual use of peyote (hikuri). He has played a central role in defending Wirikuta, the sacred Wixárika territory, against transnational mining projects.
He is one of the main protagonists of the award-winning documentary Huicholes: Los Últimos Guardianes del Peyote, which portrays his people’s resistance. He has also participated in international cultural initiatives, including collaborations with choreographer Amanda Piña.
In 2021, his 65th birthday was celebrated by his community and various collectives, honoring his role as a bridge between ancestral wisdom and contemporary society in the pursuit of planetary healing.
He is recognized as a cultural guardian for his work preserving traditional medicine, sacred ceremonies, and the ritual use of peyote (hikuri). He has played a central role in defending Wirikuta, the sacred Wixárika territory, against transnational mining projects.
He is one of the main protagonists of the award-winning documentary Huicholes: Los Últimos Guardianes del Peyote, which portrays his people’s resistance. He has also participated in international cultural initiatives, including collaborations with choreographer Amanda Piña.
In 2021, his 65th birthday was celebrated by his community and various collectives, honoring his role as a bridge between ancestral wisdom and contemporary society in the pursuit of planetary healing.
Curatorial board member and project coordinator in CDMX
Luisa Martinez de zárate has a Master’s in Social Innovation and over 13 years of experience leading social initiatives alongside diverse Indigenous communities, she works at the intersection of art, ecology, and systemic change. Her practice explores the decentralization of the human through contemporary forms, weaving together critical inquiry, land-based knowledge, and creative expression to reimagine our entanglement with the more-than-human world.
A graduate of the Institute of Postnatural Studies, she investigates symbiotic futures and speculative fictions as ways to rethink how we inhabit the planet and relate to other forms of intelligence. She is the founder of Tormenta, an expanded editorial and curatorial platform exploring multidisiplinary artistic, ecological, and philosophical practices for imagining the present otherwise.
A graduate of the Institute of Postnatural Studies, she investigates symbiotic futures and speculative fictions as ways to rethink how we inhabit the planet and relate to other forms of intelligence. She is the founder of Tormenta, an expanded editorial and curatorial platform exploring multidisiplinary artistic, ecological, and philosophical practices for imagining the present otherwise.
Photography and documentation
Funding coordinator in Austria
Funding coordinator in Austria
Mafalda Rakoš (*1994, AT) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and holds degrees from the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague (KABK) and the University of Vienna‘s Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology, where she currently teaches as a guest lecturer.
Triggered by the ethical conflict around portraying and representing others, she develops collaborative approaches to create long-term projects in the intersection of art, anthropology and documentary photography, with a strong emphasis on dialogue and mutual decision-making. In this process, analogue photography and the act of print-making, print-giving plays an important role. She has been working persons affected by eating disorders and other mental distresses for more than a decade.
Triggered by the ethical conflict around portraying and representing others, she develops collaborative approaches to create long-term projects in the intersection of art, anthropology and documentary photography, with a strong emphasis on dialogue and mutual decision-making. In this process, analogue photography and the act of print-making, print-giving plays an important role. She has been working persons affected by eating disorders and other mental distresses for more than a decade.
Associated Artist / Curatorial board
Federico Protto is an Uruguayan artist based in Brussels. His work encompasses performance, textiles, music, and research, through which he explores transcultural and transgenerational experiences of migration. He is interested in understanding multidisciplinary formats as tools for rematriation. His projects have been shown at Laboratoires d'Aubervilliers (FR), DeSingel (BE), Centro Cultural de España de Montevideo (UY), and Halle für Kunst Lüneburg (DE), among others. He studied fashion design at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and artistic research at a.pass in Brussels.www.federicoprotto.com
Associated Local Artist
Paola Raigoza Figueras was born in Mexico City (CDMX) and has moved from the performing arts into the visual arts. She has created scenography for experimental and mechanical theater, including collaborations with playwright Hugo Hiriart, as well as for short films and music videos. She holds a B.A. in Visual Arts from ENAP–UNAM and worked closely with Gilberto Aceves Navarro in Colonia Roma. She later earned an M.A. in Visual Arts from the Faculty of Arts and Design at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She was the only Mexican artist selected for the 5th Ibero-American Showcase residency of Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (FONCA).
Restless across techniques and formats, Raigoza’s materials and media constantly shift, yet her expressive language remains intense, ingenuous, and marked by a sense of strange humor, mystery, and reflection. Currently based in Zacualpan de Amilpas, Morelos, she integrates “natural” agriculture into her artistic practice, seeking to convey the urgency of re-naturalizing a planet increasingly suffocated by anthropogenic construction and waste. This concern echoes findings such as a 2020 study led by Emily Elhacham at the Weizmann Institute of Science, which reported that anthropogenic mass now exceeds natural biomass.
Associated Local Artist / Organic Farming Adviser
Julio Martínez Barnetche is a prolific sculptor and organic farming practitioner. He studied Industrial Design at UAM (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana) Xochimilco in Mexico City. In 1995 he started training direct stone carving at Fernando Arnaud´s architechture and art studio. In 1999 he opened his stone and wood art studio 'Taller C. Tlasahuates', conceived as a venue for teaching, design and production of artwork in stone and wood. The studio is located in Zacualpan de Amilpas, Morelos which is his main place of labor. His work as a sculptor revolves around direct carving on stone, it encompasses from figurative expressionism and utilitarian sculpture to abstract design. Parallel to this he farms a variety of native and introduced species using organic agricultural methods at the ejidal lands of Zacualpan de Amilpas.
Associated Researcher / Curatorial Adviser
Nicole Haitzinger is Professor of Dance Studies at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg and academic director of the doctoral program Cultures in Transition at Wissenschaft und Kunst (PLUS and Mozarteum University Salzburg). She also co-directs Curating in Performing Arts in cooperation with Ruhr University Bochum and Free University of Berlin.
She has led international research projects and published widely, including Resonances of the Tragic, Body Politics, and Decoloniality in the Performing Arts. With Sandra Chatterjee and Franz Anton Cramer, she is currently preparing Choreographing Créolité (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025).
As a curator and dramaturge, she has collaborated closely with Amanda Piña on works presented at major festivals including Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Hebbel am Ufer, and Festival d’Automne à Paris. She lives and works in Salzburg and Paris.
She has led international research projects and published widely, including Resonances of the Tragic, Body Politics, and Decoloniality in the Performing Arts. With Sandra Chatterjee and Franz Anton Cramer, she is currently preparing Choreographing Créolité (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025).
As a curator and dramaturge, she has collaborated closely with Amanda Piña on works presented at major festivals including Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Hebbel am Ufer, and Festival d’Automne à Paris. She lives and works in Salzburg and Paris.
Associated Artist / Socioecology adviser
Nikolaus Eckhard is a Vienna-based artist whose work focuses on collaborative sculpture, performance, and film. In his artistic research practice, he explores the transfer of information between materials and bodies, examining the traces our lives leave in diverse materials such as stone, sand, etc.
He was co-director of the artistic research projects Greenwashed Concrete (2020–2022) and Reverse Imagining Vienna (2021–2024), both based at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
He is also co-founder of Feldversuche, which since 2021 has provided local and international artists with a communal courtyard/garden space in Vienna to engage with questions of food production, urbanization, adaptation and transformation.
He was co-director of the artistic research projects Greenwashed Concrete (2020–2022) and Reverse Imagining Vienna (2021–2024), both based at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
He is also co-founder of Feldversuche, which since 2021 has provided local and international artists with a communal courtyard/garden space in Vienna to engage with questions of food production, urbanization, adaptation and transformation.
Trees, flowers and fruits, earth beings and people; The Popocatepetl Vulcano, whose name translates as The Smoky Mountain.
Michel Jimenez and Isidro Barreto irrigating the trees at Instituto tropical. Juan José and Nabor Ramirez, Mara'akames from La Laguna, Mezquitic Jalisco, teaching ways to relate with the beings of the land. The water well. The documentation centre .
Photography by Mafalda Rakoš, Amanda Piña and Michel Jiménez
Michel Jimenez and Isidro Barreto irrigating the trees at Instituto tropical. Juan José and Nabor Ramirez, Mara'akames from La Laguna, Mezquitic Jalisco, teaching ways to relate with the beings of the land. The water well. The documentation centre .
Photography by Mafalda Rakoš, Amanda Piña and Michel Jiménez
