Ahtziri Molina Roldán (Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico),
Bianca Garduño (Universidad Mayor Nacional de San Marcos, Peru) and
Anna Cristina Pertierra (University of Technology Sydney, Australia) – Cultural institutions in Mexico and precarisation of creative labour
March 19th, 2025
4PM (Central Standard Time/ CST, GMT -6)

Abstract: The Mexican state has been an active agent in the construction of cultural institutions and infrastructure for more than a century. But the symbolic and political currency of the cultural sector is not reflected in stable conditions for creative workers who exist precariously. In this occasion, we explore a manifestation of the simultaneous state of prominence and precarity in procurement regimes implemented by federal government cultural agencies. We consider three crucial moments: as background policies before the Covid-19 crisis, support programmes from the l government of Mexico City to employ creative workers during the pandemic, and significant resulting policies that emerged from that critical moment. We examine the content and arguments of these programmes to highlight how cultural policies and institutional structures developed by the government are a continuation, and even a deepening, of the already precarious work opportunities in the cultural sector. Through policy analysis and qualitative interviews, we contrast the officially stated goals of government institutions with the lived experiences of creative workers.

Bios:

Ahtziri Molina Roldán is a Doctor in Sociology and Director and professor at the Centre for Arts Studies of the Universidad Veracruzana. Coordinates a comparative project about arts legislation and policies in seven countries in Latin America. Her research focus on the artistic community, cultural management, cultural policies and cultural consumption. She is president of the Latin American Network for Art Research,

Bianca Garduñois a Doctor in Social Science, sociologist, researcher and professor at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru. She has collaborated as a researcher with Western Sydney University, Universidad Iberoamericana, and Centre for Arts Studies of the Universidad Veracruzana. She is a member of the Latin American Network for Art Research, and currently working on a comparative project about arts legislation and policies in Latin America. Her research interests are creative work, artistic careers, cultural policy, and higher education.

Anna Cristina Pertierra is the Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building at University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Professor Pertierra is an anthropologist with international expertise in consumption and material culture, urban modernities, and media and popular culture in the Global South. Regionally, her work focuses on Latin America (especially Cuba and Mexico) and the Asia-Pacific (Philippines). She has been the recipient of three Australian Research Council-funded research projects, including as lead Chief Investigator on the current project New Consumers of the Global South.

Upcoming VLS events (more details TBA):

April – Athambile Masola (University of Cape Town)
May – Gilbert Caluya (Deakin University)
June – Siddhart Soni (University of Southampton)
August – Hsuan Hsu (University of California)
September – Lisa Calvente (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
October – Camilla Mørk Røstvik (University of Aberdeen)
November – Dianlin Huang (Communication University of China)

Abstracts and links to the recordings of the past talks can be found here