Suzy González’s latest work entitled “Mutual Aid of the Earth” is now on view online at the Biennial of the Americas exhibit. The Virtual Exhibition is open to public voting June 15 – July 18 allotting one vote per person per day. The artwork with the most votes will be awarded Public Favorite and a $2,000 USD prize.Over 200 public submissions, 21 commissioned artists, and 15 different countries are represented in the collection.

“I was thinking about how much the pandemic affected the Americas and I like to remember the people that showed up for each other- the collective caring for each other,” said González who came in closer relation to herbalism in the past year by working with different plant materials and extracting medicine for self care and family healing. The painting featured in this exhibition is the first painting she has created since the fall of 2020.

“Art can make people feel,” said González, who is a vegan, plant based person. She described the 3 steps of artistic activism as 1) Think, 2) Feel, 3) Do. She said the last step to do and to call to action is the hardest. Gente can tune into the free workshops presented in tandem with the virtual exhibition to learn more about art and activism.

The Biennial of the Americas is a non profit organization headquartered out of Denver, Colorado that seeks to create connections and build community across the Americas. In collaboration with the Cuba Study Group, The Biennial of the Americas will host the Americas Leadership Forum online June 24. All sessions will be virtual and recorded. This program is made possible by the support of EY, Greenberg Traurig and the Denver Office of Economic Development. The event will feature a full day of free virtual programming highlighting leaders from across the Americas on engaging, timely and informative topics including:

Global Inclusivity – 10 a.m. MT

Artists Leading Political Change – 11 a.m. MT

The Next Normal – 12 p.m. MT

U.S.- Cuba Policy – 2 p.m. MT

ESG Framework Across the Americas – 3 p.m. MT

For more session details: www.biennialoftheamericas.org/americas-leadership-forum

Artist Statement:

“I’ve been working on what it means to be who I am right now and to be making work in the lineage of my ancestors and the history of art. This large-scale corn husk collage is about longing and reaching towards ancestral knowledge, which is represented by the cosmos, specifically the moon in this case. On a broader spectrum, it speaks to the fact that we are all reaching for something. The husks of the figures are altered with synthetic fabric dye, the night sky contains indigo dye, and the moon retains the natural color of dried corn husks. I see the corn husks as the skin of the figures, speaking to Mesoamerican creation stories that our very beings are created from maiz.”