The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History with the MexiCali Biennial announce The Land of Milk and Honey, a traveling arts and culture exhibition focused on the ideological concept of agriculture in California and Mexico on view at the MAH museum, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz, from Sept. 1–Dec. 31.
Drawing inspiration from John Steinbeck’s portrayal of the region as a corrupted Eden, the biennial presents works that question ethical, cultural, and regional practices related to foodways, and the venture from seed to table.
The biblical reference of a “land of milk and honey” first became associated with California as a tool for promoting the state as a land of opportunity, a destination for those in search of a better way of life — a terra firma that would provide sustenance and abundance.
This boosterism also served as an ethos that fueled “Manifest Destiny” and resulted in land grabs, labor exploitation, ecological destruction, and social injustices.
Participating artists include: Boo Alejo Sorondo, Janeth Aparicio, David Bacon, Pablo Castañeda and Eduardo Kintero, Carlos Castro Arias, Emily C-D, Cat Chiu Phillips, Janet Diaz, Melora Garcia, Katie Herzog, Cynthia Hooper, Albert Lopez Jr, Juan Luna-Avin, Narsiso Martinez, Hillary Mushkin, Isidro Pérez García, Sol2Soul Arts Collective (Fernando Armenghol, Yari Montes, Tarisse Iriarte Medina, Andrea YaYA Porras, Viviana Rubi Cruz Lopez), Devon Tsuno, Annabel Turrado, Jessica Wimbley and Chris Christion.
The Land of Milk and Honey is organized by Ed Gomez, Luis G. Hernandez, Enid Baxter-Ryce, Rosalia Romero, and April Lillard-Gomez.
La Cosecha Sagrada • Fernando Armenghol
“It is exciting to start our 2022/23 exhibition program at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History,” said Luis G. Hernandez, MexiCali Biennial co-founder and co-curator. “We have worked with Northern California artists in the past, but this is the first time that we expand our program up north, and what better place to work with than MAH, with a location that fits perfectly with the themes addressed in The Land of Milk and Honey.”
The project is made possible with support from California Humanities, a nonprofit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Additional support provided by an American Council of Learned Societies Sustaining Public Engagement Grant, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) initiative.
The MAH is a thriving community gathering place that serves more than 130,000 people a year through art and history exhibitions, visual and performing artworks, festivals, education and outreach programs, and cultural celebrations.
The MexiCali Biennial is a nonprofit contemporary visual arts organization that focuses on the area encompassing California and Mexico.