Guadalajara

Guadalajara, Jal. A project by the Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS) West that seeks to map and create networks between “cultural actors” that strengthen “capacities and community action in Jalisco,” was chosen for funding by UNESCO among the 12 selected projects that managed to stand out among at least 1,500 proposals from around the world that participated in the 2024 edition.

The two regions of Jalisco focused on making artists and collectives visible and bringing them together are Talpa de Allende and San Juan de los Lagos, points of high and almost permanent pilgrimage for fervent Catholics, municipalities where the search for young and female artists began.

The United Nations International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) is responsible for supporting artistic and cultural entities, governmental institutions and non-governmental organizations in the “Global South” that aim to develop and strengthen cultural and creative industries, especially in regions that have not had adequate promotion or support.

In its project, CIESAS Occidente proposes the creation of networks between cultural agents to ensure that artists and collectives show “the cultural, economic and social impact that pilgrimages and sanctuaries have in their regions.”

The Center reported that in order to create a network of regional artists and strengthen their social impact, it plans to invite artists to participate in a diagnosis of their needs and their perception of regional problems and invite them to workshops to offer them digital tools for managing web pages.

“The intention is to build a collective project that allows artists to work together on regional problems. In the case of environmental impact, we will be assisted by the consulting firm SOS Solutions, who have a lot of experience in environmental impact but also with local communities.”

The search is focused on young people aged 18 to 28, although it is not restrictive, particularly if it involves collectives, independent women who make audiovisuals, music, literature, painting, any artistic expression, including digital expressions, said Alejandra Aguilar, in charge of putting the project into operation.

In addition to Mexico, the winning projects of IFCD 2024 were from Armenia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mongolia, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda and Uruguay.