Pablo Helguera (born April 25, 1971,

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

) is an artist, performer, author, and educator. From 2007 to 2020 he was director of adult and academic programs at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York City. He currently is an assistant professor at the college of performing arts at the New School..

Biography

Following his BFA degree at the School of the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

and employment with the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, Helguera relocated to New York on the invitation of the Guggenheim Museum to join the department of education where he remained for eight years while beginning his career as an exhibiting artist. In 2012, Helguera received a PhD degree from

Kingston University Kingston University London is a Public university, public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South London, South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded ...

in London, and refined his role as an educator with engagement by the

. Helguera has been the recipient of numerous awards for his art and his ideas concerning social practice art, including the Guggenheim Foundation, the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

/Fideicomiso para la Cultura Mexico,

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has co ...

, a Franklin Furnace Fellowship and most recently a Blade of Grass Award from the Rubin Museum in New York. Pablo Helguera is represented by

Kent Fine Art Kent Fine Art is an Contemporary art gallery, art gallery in New York City founded in 1985 by Douglas Walla. About Founded in 1985, Kent Fine Art opened at the corner of Madison & 57th Street in the Fuller Building, New York. Since 57th Street, ...

in New York.

Work

Helguera began exhibiting as an artist in

in 1998, and for the first time in New York at the Bronx Museum of Art as well as the Museo del Barrio in 2001. Since that time, he has completed over 50 One Person Exhibitions and Performances throughout the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Croatia, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Italy, the United Kingdom and most recently Germany. Helguera has also authored over 18 publications including Education for Socially Engaged Art: A Materials and Techniques Handbook, The Pablo Helguera Manual of Contemporary Art Style, What in the World: A Museum’s Subjective Biography, The School of Panamerican Unrest, both in English as well as Spanish. One recent project, Libreria Donceles, comments on the vanishing culture of the bookstore, the passage of personal libraries to new users, but more importantly the vanishing availability of books in the Spanish language. The project was assembled by the artist with

in New York. By rendering visibility to the Spanish language in an American city, Librería Donceles affirms the importance of the cultural dimension of the language and raises questions about how Spanish might be reconnected to its diaspora, as well as integrated into the broader cultural life of New York. Donceles has subsequently travelled to the Arizona State University Art Museum, the

Kadist Art Foundation KADIST is an interdisciplinary contemporary arts organization with an international contemporary art collection. KADIST hosts artist residencies and produces exhibitions, publications, and public events. Founded by Vincent Worms and Sandra Te ...

in San Francisco, Red Hook, New York (now) with the sponsorship of Blade of Grass, and soon to the

Henry Art Gallery The Henry Art Gallery ("The Henry") is a contemporary art museum located on the campus of the University of Washington, in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located on the west edge of the university's campus along 15th Avenue N.E. in the Un ...

in Seattle, Washington. Helguera's work has been described as "socially engaged", creating works engaging communities in local or global issues. Helguera was the head of public programs in the education department of the

Guggenheim Museum The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: * The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Ne ...

from 1998-2007, and the director of adult and academic programs at the New York

from 2007-2019, prior to his appointment at the New School.

Projects

* The School of Panamerican Unrest, 2005 * Librería Donceles, 2013 * Parable Conference, 2014. First presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) with a second iteration in the form of an installation in the exhibition, "Strange Oasis" at

. * Nuevo Romancero Nuevomejicano, 2014. First presented at SITE Santa Fe with a second iteration in the exhibition, "Strange Oasis" at

Books

* * * * *

References

External links

Kent Fine Art – Pablo Helguera
at

by Martha Schwendener. {{DEFAULTSORT:Helguera, Pablo 1971 births Living people Mexican contemporary artists Mexican male writers Writers from Mexico City School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Artists from Mexico City Alumni of Kingston University