Columna Rota

The Museo de la Ciudad de México, housed in the eighteenth-century palace of the Count of Santiago de Calimaya, is itself central to this narrative. “Columna Rota” thus arrives not only as an exhibition but as an act of resurrection. Entirely funded by civil society, it insists on culture as an autonomous force, independent of state neglect and institutional complicity.

By gathering nearly two hundred artists, writers, and performers in a single gesture, “Columna Rota” reimagines the possibilities of the group exhibition and repositions Mexico City as a cultural capital where global art history, cultural dialogue, and local urgency meet. Its scale, its independence, and its insistence on collectivity mark it as a reminder that rejection, however wounding, can also be the ground upon which new solidarities are built.

Participating artists: Arrogante Albino, Claudia Andujar, Siah Armajani, Lutz Bacher, José Eduardo Barajas, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Soumya Sankar Bose, Iñaki Bonillas, Victoria Clay Mendoza, Phil Collins, June Crespo, Dexter Dalwood, Jabulani Dhlamini, Marlene Dumas, Juan Pablo Echeverri, Francisco de Guerrero y Torres, Shilpa Gupta, Juan Guzmán, Pieter Hugo, Onyeka Igwe, Alfredo Jaar, Sosa Joseph, Frida Kahlo, Tamiji Kitagawa, Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol, Zein Majali, Teresa Margolles, Georgina Maxim, Steve McQueen, Erbossyn Meldibekov, Tina Modotti, Jou Morales, Thomas Mukarobgwa, Jonathan Okoronkwo, Berenice Olmedo, José Clemente Orozco, Máximo Pacheco, Peet Pienaar, Arlette Quỳnh-Anh Trần, Jo Ractliffe, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, José Rojas, Daniela Rossell, Maruch Sántiz, Ramón Saturnino, Dayanita Singh, Slavs and Tatars, Wi Taepa, Deng Tai, José María Velasco, Nahum B. Zenil, Madame Zo.

Conceived by Francisco Berzunza, Diego Aramburu, Maria Inés Parra, Gabriella Nugent, Jaime Ruiz, Francesca Manfredini, Jimena Bernot, Otro Bureau, Perla San Juan, Pascal Scheuwly and a group of friends; with texts by Chloe Aridjis, Ruben Gallo, María Minera, Michael Synder, and Mauricio Tenorio, amongst others.