Organized by the Permanent Mission of Ecuador, Italy, and Colombia to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva.
Artists
Paola Becerril, Mexico
Andrea Castro, Colombia
Maia Kumari Gilman, United States - Canada
María Victoria Gómez, Colombia
Lucía Vaca-Izurieta, Ecuador
Sofía Izurieta, Ecuador
Cristina Vaca Moreno, Ecuador
Peonia Vázquez-D’Amico, United States - Mexico
Colaborators
Logistical Assistance, Noelia Abad Estarlich, Spain
Musical Collaboration, Nazareno Ferruggio, Italy
Musical Assistance, Francis Itás, Ecuador
Organized by
Lucia Vaca-Izurieta, Ecuador
The exhibition Domus Terrae presents work by artists from Ecuador, Colombia, the United States, Mexico, Italy, and Canada: individually and as a group, their oeuvre speaks to the complexities of civility, democracy, freedom and belonging in a globalized world. Within the context of the United Nations, and in celebration of spaces of refuge, welcome, and care, the exhibition showcases a mosaic of humanity, hinting at inclusive epistemologies that show a world able to accommodate all, without exception.
The exhibition’s title speaks to belonging to the world in an era of mass human displacement and migration. In Latin, Domus, a feminine and plural noun, refers to the house, family, and home. Terrae, also a feminine noun, singular or plural, refers to the land. In combination, these concepts signal a compassionate and pluralistic framework for moving towards increased global civility, humanitarian concerns, freedom and respect.
Domus Terrae was born from a nexus between individual history and global trends. This project came together at the invitation of the Ecuadorian Mission to the UN in Geneva, who invited Ecuadorian artist Lucía Vaca-Izurieta —an immigrant who, like millions of her compatriots, lives far from her native country— to organize an art exhibit at the United Nations to run parallel to the negotiations of the Global Compact on Refugees in the first semester of 2018.
As a precursor to Domus Terrae, in 2017, Ms. Vaca-Izurieta participated in the exhibition La Magia del Mondo (The Magic of the World), organized by B&BArt Museo di Arte Contemporanea and Aínas Magazine in Sardinia, Italy. The multi-media exhibit expressed artists’ concerns regarding beauty and understanding in a globalized world. These ideas of resilience were expanded upon as a starting point for the current project.
Artistic expressions allow for multiple approaches to contested spaces; this exhibit aims to inspire a clear and participative dialogue concerning issues that affect millions of displaced people and migrants. This exhibit interrogates notions of belonging and home—the human body, landscape, and our interconnectedness—and creates a space of refuge.
Domus Terrae is a construct to evoke empathy, tolerance, and insights into broad and changing parameters of the human experience. Domus Terrae invites the viewer to adopt a consciousness that moves us towards economies of care for each other and this planet that we call home.
Domus Terrae is co-sponsored by the Colombian and Italian Missions at the UN in Geneva, presided by Ambassadors Beatríz Londoño and Mauricio Enrico Luigi Serra.
The exhibition will open April 10, 2018, at 6:30p.m in Espace Commun Salle XXIV Salle XXV, UN, Geneva. It will be open to the public for two weeks.
