Upcoming events
Sobremesa Launch
Join us for our exclusive launch night for Sobremesa, our first publication celebrating Latin American food, culture, and art.
Come and celebrate with us on Friday, December 6th in Coburg, and don’t forget to RSVP!
Sobremesa is a publication featuring recipes passed down through generations, original art works, photography and written works centred around the Latin American diaspora in Australia’s connection to food, community and stories. Our first publication features artists based in Melbourne.
Join us for our special launch night which will include speeches by Yo Soy Collective, food experience by GRUEL and Frankie Hadid, and a set by DJ Chico Tecno. You can also pick up your printed publication for just $10!
Featured artists:
Camilo Cayazaya
Anis 88
Elizabeth and Suzanne Hermanoczki
Ernesto Tomas Vaquero
Josue Alejandro Valenzuela Zazueta
Luche Collective
Andrés Villanueva
Polly Sará, and
Quincy Malesovas
WHEN: Friday December 6th, 6:30pm - 10pm
WHERE: Schoolhouse Studios, Coburg
ADDRESS: 28 Victoria St, Coburg
RSVP at Humanitix
Please get in touch with us if you have any access requirements.
Email us at yosoyarts@gmail.com
This project is supported by Merri-bek City Council’s Flourish Arts Grants.
Sobremesa - Applications Open
“Sobremesa” is a publication featuring recipes, art and written works centred around the Latin American diaspora’s connection to food, community and stories.
Successful artists will be included in the first iteration of "Sobremesa" over two pages and will receive an artist fee. Please submit a final work (artwork and/or written work), the recipe, and answer the questions in the application form.
Applications close at midnight on 15 August 2024.
Artists will be notified by early September 2024.
This project has been completed.
Latinx Artist Directory
Yo Soy is starting a directory for the Latin American creative community based in Australia. The directory aims to promote the work of Latinx artists in Australia and act as an ongoing resource for artists and arts workers to network and build new connections. Want to join the Artist Directory? Click on the link below to fill out the Google Form with your artist information and upload a photo. Your profile will then be featured on the ‘Artist Directory’ section of the Yo Soy Collective website.
MIFF: Tótem SCREENING & Q&A with Lila Avilés & Leticia Cáceres
In collaboration with Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), Yo Soy presents a community screening and pre film Q&A with the director of the film Tótem (Denmark/France/Mexico), Lila Avilés, interviewed by local director Leticia Cáceres.
The film is a spellbinding family portrait that presents a child’s-eye view of love, loss and life in all their messy, glorious, heartbreaking colour.
We have allocated 25 community-price tickets to attend the screening and Q&A on 19th August 12.45pm at the Astor Theatre. These tickets offer a significant saving: each booking will be reduced to $12, which is less than half the price of a peak full-price ticket.
To avail of this offer, email community@miff.com.au with your preferred number of community-price tickets (max two per person). Please note that these tickets are limited.
MIFF X Yo Soy Collective Community Tickets
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) returns in cinemas on 3–20 August and online on 18–27 August! From local gems to international highlights; prestigious prize winners to filmmakers making their first forays; galas, special events, features, shorts, XR and talks – it’s a celebration of screen culture for both cinephiles and the cinema-curious. You can browse the full program here.
But attending the festival can be expensive, and so, in partnership with MIFF, Yo Soy is offering 25 community-price tickets that can be redeemed for any in-cinema title or MIFF Play stream. These tickets offer a significant saving: each booking will be reduced to $12, which is less than half the price of a peak full-price ticket.
To avail of this offer, email community@miff.com.au with your preferred number of community-price tickets (max two per person). Please note that these tickets are limited.
Yo Soy Collective at IRL Zine Fair
Yo Soy Collective will be at the Incendium Radical Library (IRL) & Collective Zine Fair! Artists connected to Yo Soy Collective will be selling zines, artist books and artworks.
WHEN: Saturday 26 November, 2pm - 5pm
VENUE: Catalyst Social Centre, 144-146 Sydney Rd, Coburg.
Accessibility information here: https://www.irlinfoshop.org/events
¡A La Mesa! - Kids Art Workshop
¡A La Mesa! is a kids arts workshop run by artist and educator Natalie Estay Valenzuela.
¡A La Mesa!, a colloquial term in Spanish meaning 'To the Table', will explore the cultural connection between art and food.
Taking inspiration from her own artwork, Natalie will encourage children to discuss their favourite foods and how they may align to culture. Children will then start creating their own still life artwork with pencils, textas, pastels and collage. A real still life set up will also be supplied by the artist for inspiration.
All materials supplied.
WHEN: Saturday 12 November, 1pm - 2pm
WHERE: Blak Dot Gallery, 33 Saxon St, Brunswick
AGES: 4 - 10 years
If you or your child has access and/or learning requirements, please get in touch with us at yosoyarts@gmail.com
This workshop is FREE. Bookings are required.
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About the Artist: Natalie Estay Valenzuela
Natalie Estay Valenzuela is a multimedia artist whose practice lies in dichotomous identity and preserving cultural memory. Born and raised in Perth, Western Australia to Chilean immigrants, Natalie’s Latina(x) identity inspires her to explore these themes through mark making, shape, colour, and contrasts.Her art is an eclectic collection of textiles, design, photography and paper works that have a handmade element and are constructed with a mindful approach.
Haciendo Memoria: Zine-making workshop
Artist and scholar Laura Rodriguez Castro will lead a session of zine and memory-making (Haciendo memoria) and open conversation in collaboration with artists from Yo Soy Collective.
You will learn how to create a zine that tells a story and captures memories, while also having the opportunity to participate in conversations around memories, lived experiences, politics, and culture.
Laura recently published the zine 'Memories and Post-Conflict: Latin American Migrants in Australia' with Spanish and English versions, which is part of a research project that seeks to understand how difficult memories are felt, lived, remembered, and forgotten by the Latin American diaspora in Australia – shaping shared past and present struggles for justice, joy, care, healing and belonging.
Equipment and light refreshments will be supplied.
Participants of all levels welcome.
WHEN: Saturday 12 November, 1pm - 3pm
WHERE: Blak Dot Gallery, 33 Saxon St, Brunswick
Free entry. Bookings are required.
Artist Market Expression of Interest
Yo Soy Collective are running an Artist Market for Latin American creatives on Saturday 12 November!
1. Stalls are $50 each. (includes a table, chairs, wet weather options)
2. You are able to share the space with another stall holder for $25 each.
3. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please get in touch with us at yosoyarts@gmail.com to discuss accessible options.
To apply, fill out the Expression of Interest form below.
Once we receive your form, we will be in touch with more information about the market and how to process your payment.
Primavera Artist Market & Community Day
Join us in celebrating Primavera/Springtime in Naarm! Yo Soy Collective and Colectiva Abya Yala come together for the first time to curate a beautiful day of live performances, workshops and an artist market. This event is a moment to honour the Blak Dot Gallery space, which has been the home base for Colectiva Abya Yala, and acknowledge the exciting changes to come.
Explore Latin American creatives, makers and food vendors at the artist market. Participate in free creative workshops, including a zine-making workshop with artist and scholar Dr Laura Rodriguez Castro and a kids workshop with artist Natalie Estay Valenzuela, and enjoy some incredible live performances by Karina Lehman, Transatlántico, and DJ Otorongo.
Primavera Line-Up:
Artist Market: 11am - 5pm
Performances: From 1pm
Kids workshop: 1pm - 2pm
Zine-making workshop: 1pm - 3pm (in the Siteworks print room)
WHEN: Saturday 12 November, 11am - 5pm
WHERE: Blak Dot Gallery, 33 Saxon St, Brunswick
Grant Writing Workshop
Yo Soy Collective will be running a free grant writing workshop.
This workshop as part of a greater goal to offer accessible professional development opportunities for Latin American creatives.
Run by Co-founder Jess Ibacache, this workshop will guide you on how you can approach grant writing at every step. Things this workshop will cover include selling yourself and your idea, writing tips, budgeting and support material.
Jess will also be available to assist with Spanish to English translation for grant applications and bios.
This workshop is free and open to anyone who identifies as a Person of Colour and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse.
WHEN: Saturday 5 November, 11.30am - 1.30pm
WHERE: Blak Dot Gallery, 33 Saxon St, Brunswick
Free entry. Bookings required.
Ancestral Magik
Ancestral Magik is an exhibition showcasing contemporary narratives from the Latin American continent. Featuring artists based in Narrm who are connected to Latin America, this exhibition unpacks the cultural, social, political and spiritual facets that encompass the Latin American identity. Influenced by social and political movements, stories of migration, and a connection to spirituality and magical realism, artists reject the prevailing false narratives of Latin American culture and come together to tell their stories on their own terms.
Featuring artists: Ana Maria Gomides, Natalie Estay Valenzuela, Nadia Hernández, Diego Ramirez, Denisse Sandoval, Kathleen Gonzalez, Karena Bravo, Lena Becerra, Laura Rodriguez Castro, Javier Hernandez, Vanessa Valenzuela, Archiving the Present.
Curated by Jess Ibacache.
WHEN:
Opening Night: 27th October, 6pm - 8pm
Hosted by Ruby-Rose Pivet-Marsh, the opening night will include performances by Kathleen Gonzalez and Ana Maria Gomides, and a set by DJ General Feelings.
Exhibition: 28 October - 20th November
WHERE: Blak Dot Gallery, 33 Saxon Street, Brunswick
Artwork by Natalie Estay.
This projects is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.
In-Conversation: Reimagining Collectives' Values - Future Reset Youth Summit
In-Conversation: Re-imagining Collectives’ Values
Led by Nyaruot Ruth Ruach, with Yo Soy Collective (Ruby Pivet & Jess Ibacache), on3 Collective and Next In Colour, this conversation comes from a desire to reflect on the role of artist-led Collectives in our current and ongoing context living through innumerable kinds of ‘pandemics’.
Value driven practice is at the heart of Collective work with each Collective being self-determined in their own unique way working across in-person and digital platforms to achieve their goals. Have the values of Collectives shifted? Strengthened? Challenged? Let’s talk about it.
We ask each Collective to bring their values to the table as well as their hot tips on getting started, by the end of the conversation we hope to have a resource to share for people thinking about forming their own artist-led Collective.
Presented as part of the Vichealth Future Reset Youth Summit- anchoring wellbeing through creativity and connection.
WHEN: Thursday 13th October, 1.15pm-2.45pm
WHERE: Science Gallery, 114 Grattan St, Parkville