Resistance Through Art in Latin America

Join us for an engaging slideshow and video presentation in the gallery exploring the powerful role art has played throughout Latin America and the broader Hispanic world. From religious imagery and colonial rule to revolution, social justice, and cultural pride, artists have long used their work as a means of expressing ideas, challenging authority, preserving identity, and inspiring change.

Following the presentation, we will host a panel discussion examining how art has served as both a reflection of society and an instrument of resistance.

Topics and themes will include, but are not limited to:

• Art as a Tool for Evangelization & Inquisition – The role of religious art in conversion, education, cultural transformation, and colonial control.
• Revolutionary Imagery – How artists transformed political figures, symbols, and events into powerful visual expressions of revolution.
• Post-Independence Nation Building – The use of art to construct national identity and define the emerging nations of Latin America.
• Social Protest – Art as a response to inequality, oppression, human rights abuses, and political repression.
• Anti-Colonialism – Artistic efforts to reclaim indigenous and African heritage and challenge the legacy of colonialism.
• Identity, Culture & Pride – The ways contemporary artists use their work to celebrate cultural heritage and assert marginalized identities.

This event is free and open to everyone.

Westbury Arts programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the governor and the New York State Legislature.