Maya Goded (1967-, Mexico City). “Iquique, Chile,” 2022, digital print. Museum purchase with funds provided by Allen Blevins and Armando Aispuro, and Betsy Rosen and Liam Stokes.
For Immediate Release | IMAGES
Charlotte, North Carolina (November 5, 2024) — Throughout the the last three decades, internationally renowned photographers Graciela Iturbide and Maya Goded have created revealing, poignant, and powerful images that examine the intersection of contemporary life and centuries-long practices throughout North and South America. Women of Land and Smoke: Photographs by Graciela Iturbide and Maya Goded (Las Mujeres de Tierra y Humo: Las Fotografías de Graciela Iturbide y Maya Goded) opening November 23 at Mint Museum Randolph, features over 50 photographs that present an overview of the artists’ careers, spanning decades and diverse series. This is the first exhibition to present the work of Iturbide and Goded in tandem.
Both artists, hailing from Mexico City, have dedicated their practice to spending extensive time with their subjects before photographing them. This creates an intimacy and a knowledge of the particular challenges and dynamics embedded in the communities they document. Through their lens, Iturbide and Goded consistently highlight the vital role of women in holding together fragmenting societies, whether in urban or isolated communities. For more than 35 years, Iturbide and Goded have leaned into each other as professional colleagues and friends to discuss the power of photography, ideas, politics, and the social and cultural life taking place around them.
The exhibition marks the first comprehensive presentation of works by Iturbide and Goded side-by-side and showcases the Mint’s efforts over the past three years to build a significant portfolio of these two prominent Mexico City-based photographers.
“I am so proud to present these important museum acquisitions and the work of Graciela Iturbide and Maya Goded together in one space. Iturbide and Goded’s work exemplify all that photography can give us — a connection to others who may seem distant and different, but with whom we share the most common factors of humanity,” says Jennifer Sudul Edwards, PhD, chief curator and curator of Contemporary Art at The Mint Museum. “Iturbide created a new way of connecting with subjects and sharing agency with them to make her work and Goded, mentored by Iturbide at the beginning of her career, has continued this practice with profound results. In an era where we increasingly glean information through images, it is essential that the makers of those images do so with consideration, respect, and thoughtfulness.
PROGRAMMING
To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, two special events are planned. Both programs will be in English and Spanish.
On November 20, the Mint will host a film screening of Maya Goded’s powerful documentary, “Plaza de la Soledad,” offering an intimate look into the lives of women in the sex trade in Mexico City and the harsh realities and emotional toll intertwined with their daily lives. Goded will introduce the film and answer questions following.
On November 21, artist Maya Goded will engage in a conversation with Chief Curator and Curator of Contemporary Art Jen Sudul Edwards, PhD, discussing her career and the themes resonating throughout the exhibition.
Additional events will occur In April and May 2025 around a program titled “Artful Healing: Exploring Wellness Through Creative Expression.” Maya Goded and Cherokee artist Laura Walkingstick will lead workshops for femme-identifying participants to explore how to use art-making to process trauma. Two workshops will take place, one in Cherokee and one in Charlotte. These workshops are supported by multiple Charlotte arts and cultural organizations, including the McColl Center that will provide a residency space to Goded and Walkingstick; The Light Factory that will provide cameras, photography instructors, printing, and exhibition space; and Circle de Luz that will partner with the Mint for the Charlotte workshop.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Graciela Iturbide, born in 1942, initially pursued a career in film before turning to photography under the influence of Mexican modernist master Manuel Alvarez Bravo. Iturbide’s work focuses on documenting life in indigenous communities throughout Latin America, as well as significant projects in East Germany, India, Madagascar, Hungary, and France. She has been the subject of numerous retrospectives, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Boston Museum of Fine Art, and Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, as well as exhibitions and publications throughout the world.
Iturbide has received many of the most significant awards in her field including the Mexican Fine Arts Gold Metal Award (2024); the William Klein Prize from the French Academy of Arts (2023); the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award from the World Photography Organization; The National Museum of Women in the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in the Arts (2020); the W. Eugene Smith Award (1987); a Guggeheim Fellowship (1988). In 2022 she was inducted into the Photography Hall of Fame and Museum.
Maya Goded, born in Mexico City in 1967 to political activists, has long sought out the unseen or actively ignored individuals in society: prostitutes, the missing, laborers, and healers. Her photographs capture women whose essential roles sustain their communities but who are often overlooked in discussions of care and protection. In recent years, Goded has observed that the healing practices traditionally used by women have increasingly been redirected toward the land they inhabit. The portfolio of images collected by the Mint showcases the myriad ways in which women’s bodies navigate the world in their pursuit of healing.
Goded has been honored with numerous awards including 2020 National Geographic Storytelling Fellows (2020); Charles Claus Fund, 2001 W. Eugene Smith Award and Guggenheim Foundation (2001). Her 2016 acclaimed documentary film, “Plaza de la Soledad” was selected for major international festivals, including Sundance and Tribeca film festivals. Her first major publication will be available in early winter 2025.
Women of Land and Smoke: Photographs by Graciela Iturbide and Maya Goded is generously presented by Bank of America, with additional support from the Mint Museum Auxiliary and Campania Fine Moulding. Individual support is kindly provided by Allen Blevins and Armando Aispuro, and Betsy Rosen and Liam Stokes. The Mint Museum is supported, in part, by the City of Charlotte and the North Carolina Arts Council.
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ABOUT THE MINT MUSEUM
Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, The Mint Museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design. With two locations — Mint Museum Randolph in the heart of Eastover and Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts — the Mint boasts one of the largest collections in the Southeast and is committed to engaging and inspiring members of the global community.
CONTACT:
Clayton Sealey, senior director of marketing and communications
clayton.sealey@mintmuseum.org | 704.534.0186 (c)
Michele Huggins, associate director of marketing and communications
michele.huggins@mintmuseum.org | 704.564.0826 (c)