Date: Thursday, October 9, 2025
Location: UVA Special Collections Library Auditorium
Hosts/Partners: UVA Department of Art, IHGC (Institute of the Humanities and Global Cultures), and the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

Introduction:
Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Fuego Eterno: Soberanías Visuales (on view at Ruffin Gallery through October 10), this symposium brings together artists, scholars, and curators from across the Americas to explore themes of indigeneity, decoloniality, and migration. Hosted by the UVA Department of Art in collaboration with the Global Spanish Initiative, this day-long event invites dialogue through panels, remarks, and the Dean’s Hosted conversation. All are welcome to attend; advance RSVP is requested (Registration link forthcoming, check back soon!)

Schedule:

• 9:00 AM – Coffee & Refreshments
• 9:30 AM – Introductory Remarks by:
  • Sam Amago
  • Federico Cuatlacuatl
  • Erika Hirugami

Panel A – Reindigenize Aesthetic Theory

• Time: 10:00 – 11:20 AM
• Description: Indigenous scholars from across the Americas convene to discuss indigeneity in diaspora, art-making processes blending ancestral knowledge with contemporary frameworks, and Indigenous futurity.
• Panelists: Edgar Calel, Marilyn Boror Bor, Venuca Vivanco, Federico Cuatlacuatl

Panel B – Curatorial Politics: Beyond Performative Decoloniality

• Time: 11:30 AM – 12:50 PM
• Description: Explores decolonial theory in curatorial and museology practices, emphasizing transformative, place-making methodologies that go beyond performativity.
• Panelists: Lisa Blackmore, Armando Perla, Erika Hirugami, Dalia Garcia

Dean’s Remarks & Lunch Break

• 12:50 PM – Remarks by Dean Christa Acampora
• 1:00 – 2:30 PM – Lunch 

Panel C – Enabling Difficult Conversations: Migrating Ancestry

• Time: 2:30 – 3:30 PM
• Description: Scholars and artists engage in conversation around migration, immigration, and the weight of ancestry—deconstructing borders and their lasting impact.
• Panelists: Paulina Ochoa, Karen Milbourne, Sam Amago, Porfirio Gutierrez 

This symposium is supported by the University of Virginia's College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the Peter B. and Adeline W. Ruffin Foundation, and the University of Virginia's Institute of the Humanities and Global Cultures (IHGC).