MEET THE ESTEEMED JUDGES FOR FOFA’S 2025 CONCURSO!

~ Registration for Young Folk Artists Starts in One Week! ~

January 30, 2025 - Friends of Oaxacan Folk Art (FOFA) proudly announces the judges for its 7th concurso (competition) for young folk artists from the state of Oaxaca. This year’s panel of judges features an esteemed group of five multi-talented professionals with deep roots in Oaxaca’s folk art traditions – as practicing artists, scholars, teachers and advocates.

The theme of this year’s concurso is “My Story in my Hands,” a moving tribute to the cultural traditions embodied in Oaxacan artists’ works. As in past years, the concurso will take place at MEAPO (Oaxaca’s state folk art museum), which is FOFA’s partner organization.

The judges for FOFA’s 2025 concurso are:

Marta Turok Wallace is a renowned Mexican anthropologist, author, program director and curator. Her extensive background in the art and popular culture of Mexico includes a longtime affiliation with Mexico City’s famed Franz Mayer Museum. An expert in sustainability as it relates to the arts, Marta returns as a FOFA concurso judge this year.

Moíses García Nava is an artist and university-level teacher. From 2013 – 2022, he was director of the Rufino Tamayo Plastic Arts Workshop in Oaxaca, and he currently directs the School of Plastic and Visual Arts of the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca (UABJO). This marks Moíses’s first time as a concurso judge.

Linda Hanna, originally a weaver, has led Oaxacan folk art tours for tourists and serious collectors for decades. Each year, she coordinates Oaxacan artists’ participation in the Feria Maestros del Arte (Masters of Art Fair), held in Chapala, Mexico. A member of FOFA’s Advisory Board since its inception, Linda will serve as a concurso judge for the first time in 2025.

Francisco Guevara Contreras is a multi-talented and award-winning ceramic artist whose works have been exhibited in Japan, Mexico City and Oaxaca, most recently with a 36-year retrospective at MEAPO. A co-founder of the Rédox Ceramic School in Oaxaca, Francisco will be serving for the first time as a concurso judge this year.

Linda Marston-Reid is a former community arts advocate and executive with deep roots in Mexico’s folk arts. Before retiring in 2022 and relocating to Oaxaca, she led Arts Mid-Hudson in New York state, and earlier, she worked at the Rockefeller Foundation in the Bellagio Residency Program. Linda will serve as a concurso judge for the first time this year.

Starting February 7, folk artists from around the state of Oaxaca will bring their works to MEAPO, where they will register to be entered into the concurso. Judging will take place on Friday, February 14 in the museum’s spacious gallery, followed on Saturday, February 22 by a festive awards ceremony attended by winners, honorees and their families.

FOFA’s concursos are free to enter for any Oaxacan folk artist up to the age of 35, and awards include not only generous cash prizes, but also continuing education courses and hands-on advocacy. In summer 2025, an exhibit showcasing the works of the concurso’s winners and honorable mention recipients will launch at MEAPO.

For a comprehensive look at FOFA's programs, visit our website at: www.fofa.us

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