CLAVIS-Center for Latin American Visual Studies, UT Austin

The Center for Latin American Visual Studies, CLAVIS-Modern + Contemporary Art, is a focal point at the University of Texas for the advanced understanding of modern and contemporary art between the Americas. As a conversational space for the creation of knowledge, its aim is to build bridges that allow the exchange of ideas, resources, and methods with other institutes in Latin America, the United States, and Europe. The goal of this initiative is to serve as a platform for horizontal exchanges with other centers in Latin America and other parts of the world. With resources that make it unique in the international context, the Center brings together the excellence of campus-wide scholars, museum and library professionals, associated faculty, and comprehensive collections, to outline a complex vision today of Latino / American art and its evolving modernity.

Today, while other major universities and museums are committed to the area of Latin American art studies, none of these institutions have the depth and long established tradition of research and education across disciplines in the area of Latin American studies or the existing rich resources of the University of Texas. These resources include the following internationally leading programs:

Department of Art and Art History in the College of Fine Arts—with the country's first professorship and graduate program in Latin American art and one of a handful of colleges in the nation to offer graduate degrees in Latin American art
Benson Latin American Collection—the largest university library collection of Latin American materials in total number of volumes in the United States
Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies—one of the oldest Latin American Centers in the country
Blanton collection of Latin American art—one of the country's most important and extensive collection of modern and contemporary Latin American art
Mesoamerica Center—with a focus on the arts, languages, and archaeology of Mesoamerican indigenous cultures, highlighting the interdisciplinary strengths of many faculty and students at UT Austin
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center—a remarkably diverse range of collections with objects that count in the tens of millions affording scholars unique opportunities for cross-disciplinary research
UT Press—one of the leading Latin American presses in the nation
Museum Studies program in the College of Fine Arts—an emerging program at the university for undergraduate students interested in pursuing careers as museum professionals

The Center is an initiative for the study of Latin American art to better leverage these many resources at the university. No other institute of higher learning has UT's exemplary track record in Latin American scholarship, nor the variety of resources in the field of Latin American art.

The Center seeks to establish institutional partnerships and an exchange program for artists, scholars, and professionals. In so doing, it seeks to be an active contributor to the development of Latin American art and culture, while simultaneously consolidating its leadership in the field.
Program Activities for the New Initiative for Latin American Art Studies

The initiative to further the study of Latin American art at the Center will provide the framework and opportunity to formalize past program activities and develop new ones designed to enhance the scope, quality, and relevance of scholarship as well as to broaden public interest in Latin American art.


Dr. Andrea Giunta
Director
Professor, Latin American Art
Department of Art and Art History
University of Texas at Austin

Dr. George Flaherty
Associate Director
Assistant Professor
Department of Art and Art History
University of Texas at Austin