Located in Zacualpan de Amilpas, Morelos, Mexico, instituto Tropical Mexico is a trans disciplinary artistic initiative at the convergence between art, agriculture science and indigenous knowledge,
Instituto Tropical Mexico is a trans-disciplinary artistic initiative at the convergence between art, agriculture, science and indigenous knowledge. It offers artistic research residencies, workshops and seminars dealing with urgent eco-social concerns, promoting ecological restoration and local collective transformation.
As a fertile ground for experimentation and reflection, Instituto Tropical Mexico explores the possibilities of the the Symbiocene-, a future geological era in which humans and non humans live in collaboration and symbiosis.
Building upon the strong historical bond between Austria and Mexico and the intellectual and artistic circulation between Europe and Latin America, Instituto Tropical Mexico seeks to strengthen the connection between art and ecological restoration. Its programs are designed to cultivate solidarity, dialogue and meaningful exchange between the global north and the global south.
RESIDENCY AND RESEARCH PROGRAM IN MEXICO
A SCHOOL OF ROOTED KNOWLEDGES
Located in the heart of Zacualpan de Amilpas, the residency program acknowledges the colonial history embedded in the house and seeks to heal this past by placing dialogue with the community at the core of its practice. Residents and neighbours are invited to stay, reflect, and imagine fair, collaborative artistic processes that engage with local craftspeople and ancestral knowledges.
What can you do here that you cannot do anywhere else?
How can you relate to the surroundings—both physical and temporal?
The space 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.
Like the magmatic force of 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
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.
SOME WORDS ABOUT US
Amanda Piña: Is an artist-researcher of Mexican origin and 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 and has presented her work in ….among others.
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.
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 project in Mexico.
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.
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 project in Mexico.
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.
Luisa Bio Aqui
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 .
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 .
