Conferencia Plástica Chicana

The international Plástica Chicana Conference was held September 13–16, 1979, in Austin to focus on the historical and cultural significance of Chicano art. The four-day event was sponsored by Mujeres Artistas del Sudoeste and the League of United Chicano Artists and obtained support from the Texas Commission on the Arts, the City of Austin, the University of Texas, and the Pan American Recreation Center. Artists and art critics from the United States and Mexico discussed the roots of Latino-generated art and evaluated the first decade of Chicano-movement art. Conference participants included muralist Ray Patlán, Amado Peña, and Emmy-winning filmmaker Susana Racha. They were joined by Raquel Tibol, Mexican scholar of muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros and biographer of painter Frida Kahlo, and Shifra Goldman, authority on Chicano art. In addition, members of the Mexican fine arts community contributed to twenty-four workshops on such topics as folk art, photography, and lithography. The conference was held at several sites around the city, including the University of Texas, St. Edward's University, and several East Austin locations, such as the Pan American Recreation Center, Galería Tonantzín, and Zaragoza Park. It opened in East Austin with an exhibition called Espejo Del Pueblo/1979. A highlight of the conference was an exhibit of thirty works by Manuel Alvarez Bravo unveiled at the Texas Memorial Museum.