The Visiting Mexican Artists Program

The Visiting Mexican Artists Program presents master Oaxacan (Wa-ha-can) woodcarver Ventura Fabian and his son, Norberto, in a series of presentations about their craft to diverse communities in the greater Boston metropolitan area. Over a three to four week period in the fall, to coincide with Mexico’s Day of the Dead holiday, the artists visit schools, libraries and art centers to share the allure and vibrancy of Mexican artistic expression.


Art has an almost magical ability to transcend cultural divides, for both children and adults alike. It can provide a powerful vehicle for fostering inter-cultural understanding and appreciation. The work of Ventura Fabian, because of its simplicity, humor and strong general appeal, is particularly well-suited to achieve these ends.


With Mexico and the United States as close neighbors, and with the growing Mexican-American population in the U.S., cross-cultural awareness and understanding is essential to the people of both our countries.


For presentation details and schedules, click here.

For Program History , click here.

To view video clips of our presentations, click here.

           Past and Present Funders

  1. •Mexican Consulate in Boston

  2. •Cambridge Arts Council

  3. •Chelsea Cultural Council

  4. •Somerville Arts Council

  5. •Brookline Commission for the Arts

  6. •Roxbury Highland Charitable Foundation

  7. •Mt. Washington Charitable Foundation

  8. •Mexicana Airlines

  9. •Fellowes Athenaeum Fund of the BPL

Program History





• Cambridge Public Schools

  1. •Shady Hill School

  2. •Harvard’s Peabody Museum

  3. •Cambridge Multicultural Center

  4. •University of Vermont

  5. •Club Passim’s Culture for Kids Program

  6. •Boston Children’s Museum

  7. •WBZ-TV

  (See full list)

The project addresses such themes as:

  1. • the art of Oaxacan woodcarving

  2. • the daily life of a rural artisan family

  3. • the role of children in helping the family survive economically

  4. • the balance between subsistence agriculture and craft work

  The goals of the program are:

  1. • to inspire children to reflect on their own culture through artistic expression,

  and to strengthen their own creativity

  1. • to help children understand and appreciate Mexico,

  and to know and value a way of life very different from their own

  1. • to share and celebrate the vibrancy of Mexican folk art and the richness of

  Mexican culture with a diverse urban population in Boston’s metropolitan area

  1. • to highlight how art and daily life are integrated in rural Mexico, and to show how art and craftsmanship both play a vital role in the life of the community


In addition, we hope to encourage educators to create study segments around the school visits using the study guide we provide and to develop follow-up art assignments with students in response to the program presentations. Spanish language teachers have also brought their classes to the presentations.

In the programs’ four years of visits we have given presentations at over 50 sites. Among the public and private schools, museums, and cultural institutions we have visited are the:

Our presentations are adapted to the grade level of our audience, which has ranged from pre-schoolers to high school students to the general public. An educator’s outreach packet is provided to all the participating sites prior to the visits.


The program has received commendations from both the Boston and Cambridge City Councils and enthusiastic reviews from educators.

Ventura Fabian

Norberto Fabian

Presentations & Schedules

History

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