October 24, 2023
Meghan O'Toole
Susy Bielak featured in binational Lit & Luz Festival
Assistant Professor of Art Susy Bielak's work was recently featured in the Lit & Luz Festival: A Celebration of Language, Literature, and Art, a week-long binational event that pairs writers and artists from Chicago and Mexico City to develop new collaborations.
Bielak contributed to the festival's ten-year anniversary exhibition, which opened on October 13 and will be open through October 29.
“The Lit & Luz Festival is near and dear to me in how it fosters connections across geography and invites collaboration, discovery, artistic innovation, and critical expression,” Bielak said. “After having been part of the festival twice, I am delighted to participate in the first exhibition affiliated with the festival.”
Bielak's work in the exhibition uses amate, one of the oldest papers in Mesoamerica, as well as imagery from 19th-centruy gardening cloches, a kind of plant enclosure.
“This work poses the question, who and what grows where and is encouraged to do so?” Bielak said of the work.
The festival occurs across Chicago, with the exhibition at the Chicago Art Department. According to the festival webpage, “The Lit & Luz Festival is a one-of-a-kind series of events featuring renowned authors, visual artists, and musicians from Chicago and Mexico in cultural exchange and conversation. This series of readings, conversations, artist talks, and performances, including signature event, the Live Magazine Show, highlights new translations and artistic collaborations—showcasing some of the most innovative contemporary artists from both countries. The festival takes place in Chicago in the fall, followed by the Lit & Luz Festival Mexico City in the winter.” Learn more about Lit & Luz.