words//alison smith
Jesse Hlebo is a photographer residing in Brooklyn, New York. He will be curating the art at DIY promoter, Todd P’s, MTYMX festival on March 19th to 23rd in Monterrey, Mexico. Artists confirmed for the festival include Stephanie Davidson, Sumi Ink Club, Jesse Spears, Katja Mater, and JD Beltran. Jesse is also a creator of _Quarterly, an experimental visual and literary arts publication.
How was the idea of having an art competent for MTYMX conceived?
Todd asked me if I would like to be in charge of the visual art curation because he didn’t want it to be just a music festival. I thought about it for a little bit because I have lots of other things that I’m doing right now but I felt like it was something that I would probably feel really guilty about if I didn’t do.
How long have you been planning this?
I started working in the end of January or the beginning of February, so only a few weeks ago.
What mediums can we expect to see at the festival?
There are two categories of the work. There are videos that will be projected on a drive-in screen and a large pile of rocks. All of the work is commissioned so everyone has made work specifically for the festival. The other pieces are on 7’ x 21’ canvases. They’re a range of mediums from drawings to more sculptural pieces; some use paint, some use ink.
How did you go about getting these artists involved with the festival?
I had a huge, long list of people that I started compiling when [Todd] asked me to be involved that I thought would [work], given the circumstances of either video art of really large murals. A good majority of the people I contacted, I was either friends with or acquaintances with. The others were people whose work I knew either from the internet or from seeing [their work] around. Pretty much all of the contact happened through email.
Are they from any specific place or all over?
We have an artist from Amsterdam, artists from New York, an artist from Canada, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and other places.
Are there any from Mexico?
There are people that the other organizer, Yo Garage, put together that are from Mexico.
Are the works collaborative or individual pieces?
There’s a mixture of the two. I think we have four pieces that are collaborative and the rest are solo.
Have you seen any of the final pieces yet?
I’ve seen all of the videos and about three of the murals.
A purpose of Artist Advocacy is to lower the playing field between well known artists and kids making art and music in their basements, do you think that spirit ties into the art at MTYMX?
There’s some people who have never really exhibited before and then others who are far more represented and established.
Are there any plans for what will happen to those pieces after the festival is over?
They’re going to become a part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Monterrey.
Is there anything going on with _Quarterly that you put out?
On Saturday April 17th, we will be participating in the Philadelphia photography book fair, we recently became part of the Museum of Modern Art library collection, and PS.1 is now carrying _Quarterly.
Rad. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I’m really excited that this festival is happening on a social level. I think it’s a really positive thing and I’m glad it was able to be mobilized in such a short a time.
–
For more information on MTYMX Festival visit its website here. Jesse Hlebo’s personal website can be found here.