Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mamaz Collective




The “Maize is Our Life” exhibit closure in the Natural History Museum, in which 48 women joined forces and creativity in a pro-corn movement. Here, taking advantage of the inertia, the collective concept was born.

MAMAZ begins and develops at the beginning of 2008. It is an open group in which the only requirement is to raise consciousness. MAMAZ, beyond participating in new exhibitions and promoting the original :Maize is Our Life” exhibit, has generated parallel projects in order to reach a wider public.

The Market Bag, for example, was also born in 2008. It is an art-object project in which almost 150 women artists, artisans, farmers, and housewives are participating and telling their stories about corn.
mamazmarketbag.pbworks.com

mamazmarketbag.pbworks.com

The collective also organizes workshops to be given in villages or in exchange with other womens’ groups. In these cases, discussions about the corn situation and how to raise consciousness are debated. Participants are also invited to create something for the bag. The idea is to bring people closer to corn not only through theory, but by picking up on what they feel for it and figuring out how to express this three-dimensionally.

The Market Bag and the blog focus on social action and artistic expression. Marietta Bernstorff never tires of visiting villages and festivals promoting the conservation of native corn and our nutritional independence.