CONVERSATIONS 2026
ZⓈONAMACO Conversations Program brought together a distinguished cast of international curators, artists, gallerists, critics, museum directors and other leading cultural figures from the world’s creative and artistic scene to participate in interesting talks.
The program, presented by Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo and Pugh Seal, took place in the Sala Conversaciones inside the fair, and access was free of charge with the ZⓈONAMACO ticket.
12:00
Aeroméxico presents: The Essence of Contemporary Mexico | Booth SP14
Andrés Castañeda and José Esparza
Wednesday, 4 de February de 2026
12:00
Booth SP14
Andrés Castañeda (Vice President, Digital y Experiencia al Cliente de Aeroméxico), and José Esparza (curator).
The official airline of ZⓈONAMACO lands in this talk to share the details of its first art curation— a project that seeks to reflect the essence of contemporary Mexico in what will be its newly renovated Salones Premier at Mexico City International Airport. The participants will discuss how culture and art will transform the flying experience. *Exclusive access for VIP guests *By invitation only
13:00
3rd AXA Mexico Art Prize
Jeanette Escobar | Jury: Mireida Velázquez Torres, Francisco Elias Carrillo, and Isaura Ruiz Ojeda
Wednesday, 4 de February de 2026
13:00
Conversations Hall
Jeanette Escobar (Vice President of Clients, Quality and Communication | Jury: Mireida Velázquez Torres, Francisco Elias Carrillo, and Isaura Ruiz Ojeda.
Within the framework of the 22nd edition of ZⓈONAMACO, AXA Mexico will present the “AXA Mexico Art Award” for the third time, aiming to foster the development of contemporary Mexican artists. In addition to the recognition, the winning artwork will be acquired to become part of the collection of the French insurance company, which has long supported the preservation and care of art in Mexico. *Exclusive access for VIP guests
14:00
Starbucks presents: Art That Connects, Coffee That Unites
Mario García Torres and Lorena Ancona
Wednesday, 4 de February de 2026
14:00
Conversations Hall
Mario García Torres (artist) and Lorena Ancona (artist).
In this conversation, artist Mario García Torres presents a project developed under his curatorial vision that explores human connections through the shared experience of a cup of coffee—an everyday gesture that brings people together and leaves traces that connect. In collaboration with Alsea Starbucks, the project takes shape through artist residencies throughout the year and presentations within the framework of ZⓈONAMACO. *Exclusive access for VIP guests.
15:30
Museo Jumex presents: Simone Fattal in conversation with Cristiano Raimondi
Simone Fattal and Cristiano Raimondi
Wednesday, 4 de February de 2026
15:30
Conversations Hall
Simone Fattal (artist and Lauréate du XLIX Prix International d’Art Contemporain), and Cristiano Raimondi (Artistic Director of Prix International d’Art Contemporain).
On the occasion of her presentation at the Museo Jumex, artist Simone Fattal (Damascus, 1942) reflects on her practice in conversation with Cristiano Raimondi. Fattal was awarded the XLIX Prix International d’Art Contemporain, in recognition of her six-decade-long practice spanning sculpture, painting, collage, writing, and publishing. Her visual language in ceramics and sculpture is marked by the archaic bodies and figures in transit that evoke the human spirit in relation to history. *Exclusive access for VIP guests *Conversation in English
17:00
Book Presentation: The Art of Tequila, Spirit of Mexico
Suleman Anaya, Patrick Charpenel and Laura Laviada
Wednesday, 4 de February de 2026
17:00
Conversations Hall
Suleman Anaya (Mexican researcher and writer specializing in culture, design, and art), Patrick Charpenel (Director at Museo del Barrio, New York, and Art Co-curator of Reserva de la Familia), and Laura Laviada (Editorial Project Coordinator).
“The Art of Tequila: Spirit of Mexico” explores the relationship between tequila and art, revealing a vital bridge where centuries-old artisanal knowledge meets contemporary imagination. By inspiring generations of creators, tequila expresses the tradition of a territory through diverse artistic movements. “Tequila tells the story of Mexico,” says Suleman Anaya. “It is a symbol that connects our past with the present—a fusion of an invaluable heritage with the cultural dynamism celebrated and admired internationally today.”
18:30
Art and Institutions: Practices in Management and Curatorship
Stefano Collicelli, Simone Krug, Donna De Salvo and Tatiana Cuevas
Wednesday, 4 de February de 2026
18:30
Conversations Hall
Stefano Collicelli (General Director at Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary, Prato, Italy), Simone Krug (Curator for the Aspen Art Museum), Donna De Salvo (Senior Adjunct Curator, Dia Art Foundation, New York), and Tatiana Cuevas (General Director of Artes Visuales at UNAM and Director of Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, MUAC)
Through the voices of museum and institutional leaders from diverse contexts, this conversation addresses the current challenges facing contemporary art institutions, from the pursuit of curatorial autonomy to tensions around funding and institutional management. The dialogue invites a rethinking of cultural sustainability, exploring strategies for critical, free and plural spaces capable of responding to global and local transformations. *Conversation in English
13:00
LMI presents: From Light to Body. Photography, Materiality, and Knowledge
Pablo Boneu, Cecil Bolaños, Rubén Mira, Tiago Valente, Manuel Hernández and Javier Harari
Thursday, 5 de February de 2026
13:00
Conversations Hall
Pablo Boneu (visual artist), Cecil Bolaños (multimedia artist), Rubén Mira (writer and screenwriter), Tiago Valente (multidisciplinary artist), and Manuel Hernández (Manager of Leica Gallery and Academia). Moderator: Javier Harari (Director of LMI).
This conversation proposes an understanding of photography not merely as an image, but as a complex process that articulates material, scientific, and cultural dimensions. Beyond the visual result, photographic printing is explored as an act of translation: from data to matter, light to surface, from information to sensory experience.
14:30
ZⓈONAMACO DISEÑO presents: FORMA, Art and Design Galleries
Paulina Hassey, Pien Rademakers, Gabriel Keenan and Cecilia León de la Barra
Thursday, 5 de February de 2026
14:30
Conversations Hall
Paulina Hassey (Co- founder and Co-director of ADN Galería, Mexico), Pien Rademakers (Founder and Director of Rademakers Gallery, The Netherlands), and Gabriel Keenan (Partner at DOBRA*, Brazil). Moderator: Cecilia León de la Barra (Director of ZⓈONAMACO DISEÑO).
A conversation with gallerists specializing in contemporary art and design. The discussion will focus on the boundaries and intersections between both disciplines, addressing the aesthetic, conceptual, and market criteria shaping their relationship within today’s collecting context. *Conversation in English
16:00
ZⓈONAMACO EJES presents: Interchanges
Magnolia de la Garza, Gilberto González, Lucía Sanromán and Aimé Iglesias
Thursday, 5 de February de 2026
16:00
Conversations Hall
Magnolia de la Garza (Director Colección Isabel y Agustin Coppel, CIAC), Gilberto González (Deputy Director Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, CAAC; and Centro Contemporáneo de Córdoba, C3A), and Lucía Sanromán (Chief Curator Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, MUAC-UNAM). Moderator: Aimé Iglesias (Curator of ZⓈONAMACO EJES).
In a world increasingly connected yet increasingly regulated in the circulation of ideas, people, and goods, how do art exhibitions position themselves as sites of exchange? This panel proposes an exchange of experiences among participants as agents and observers of today’s global contemporary art scene.
17:15
Fundación Casa Wabi Woman Artist Residency Award 2026
Andrea Bustillos, Carla Sodi and Mariana Vinalay
Thursday, 5 de February de 2026
17:15
Conversations Hall
Jury: Andrea Bustillos (Curator, Casa Wabi), Carla Sodi (Director, Casa Wabi), and Mariana Vinalay (Artist Liaison, Casa Wabi).
In its sixth year, this residency award continues to honor and elevate the exceptional work of women artists presented at the fair. The non-profit Casa Wabi Foundation is committed to fostering dialogue between national and international artists, designers from diverse disciplines and the local communities along the coast of Oaxaca. Casa Wabi's artist residencies in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, are deeply integrated with social and cultural initiatives, reflecting the Foundation's commitment to socially engaged and culturally enriching artistic practices that benefit the surrounding communities.
18:30
Material Memories
Aurora Noreña, Janila Castañeda and Rodrigo Torres Ramos
Thursday, 5 de February de 2026
18:30
Conversations Hall
Aurora Noreña (sculptor and researcher), Janila Castañeda (Founder and Editor of BLOQUE), and Rodrigo Torres Ramos (Researcher and Co-editor at BLOQUE).
How do we read the past through the materials, gestures, and technologies that carry it forward? This dialogue between BLOQUE and Aurora Noreña invites us to reflect on the work of the sculptor, who for over five years has focused her research on recovering the past as a carrier of equity, a possibility for the future, and a renewal of poetic visuality. From ceramics, textiles, and codices to stone, oral accounts, and corporeal knowledge, her work understands the physical as a living form of knowledge.
13:00
Tequila 1800 Collection Award
Friday, 6 de February de 2026
13:00
Conversations Hall
tequila1800.mx
Celebrated for 18 years within ZⓈONAMACO, the award supports emerging artistic talent.
14:30
Tequila 1800 presents: The Art of Collecting. Between the Editorial Gaze and Collecting
Celia Sredni de Birbragher and Marisol Argüelles
Friday, 6 de February de 2026
14:30
Conversations Hall
Celia Sredni de Birbragher (Founder and Editor of ArtNexus and art collector), in conversation with Marisol Argüelles (Director of the Museo de Arte Moderno, MAM).
A key figure in the construction and international visibility of Latin American art, Celia Sredni de Birbragher speaks with Marisol Argüelles about collecting Latin American art, exploring the transition from the editorial gaze to that of the collector. What changes when one moves from observing, writing, and analyzing to acquiring works? How does editorial experience influence the process of acquisition? This dialogue addresses the place of Latin American art in global collections, the relevance of publications such as ArtNexus in its visibility and in the promotion of collecting practices, and the value of knowledge versus intuition in building a collection.
16:00
ZⓈONAMACO FOTO presents: Image, Body, and Community. Shifts in the Act of Seeing in Contemporary Art |
Ilaria Conti, Helena Lugo, Alfredo de Stéfano and Luis Graham Castillo
ZⓈONAMACO FOTO presents: Image, Body, and Community. Shifts in the Act of Seeing in Contemporary Art |
Friday, 6 de February de 2026
16:00
Conversations Hall
Ilaria Conti (Executive Director and Chief Curator of La Nueva Fábrica, Guatemala), Helena Lugo (Executive Director of Terremoto), and Alfredo de Stéfano (conceptual visual artist). Moderator: Luis Graham Castillo (Curator of ZⓈONAMACO FOTO).
In a present saturated with images, how do we continue to look? This panel explores the image as a space of care, resistance, and collective construction. Drawing from their experiences in curating, activism, and publishing, the speakers will discuss the role of the body, desire, and technologies in shaping contemporary imaginaries. The conversation opens a space for listening and reflection on possible alliances between art, community, and visual affect, while inviting us to consider looking as an exercise in critical and relational imagination.
16:00
Book Signing: Hope
Iconic Images Gallery and ZⓈONAMACO FOTO
Friday, 6 de February de 2026
16:00
Booth F10
Booth F10 | Iconic Images Gallery | ZⓈONAMACO FOTO |
Cristina Mittermeier, a renowned Mexican marine biologist, activist, and pioneering conservation photographer, will be signing copies of her book Hope, available in both English and Spanish. Hope is a visual manifesto on conservation that, through a combination of photography and personal narrative, explores humanity’s deep connection with nature and the planet’s resilience. Featuring a foreword by Robert Redford, the book presents images of global biodiversity and highlights the interconnection between people and ecosystems, showcasing resilient communities and landscapes. It also offers an inspiring call to action in the face of climate anxiety and proposes solutions for a sustainable future.
17:15
Art, Memory, and the Weight of Place
Gonzalo García, Amanda de la Garza, Perla Krauze, Aliza Nisenbaum and Charles Moore
Friday, 6 de February de 2026
17:15
Conversations Hall
Gonzalo García (artist), Amanda de la Garza (Deputy Artistic Director, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Spain), Perla Krauze (artist), and Aliza Nisenbaum (artist). Moderator: Charles Moore (curator).
Art carries memory, place, and lived experience. The participants will examine the tools used to bear witness to history, to violence, to care, and to community. Whether it be material, color, the body, or representation, these tools fluctuate between institutional frameworks and intimate gestures. Across their interdisciplinary practices that span sculpture, painting, curating, and pedagogy, the artists reflect on how sites, relationships, and inherited narratives shape artistic responsibility today, asking how art can hold complexity while remaining deeply human. The dialogues are based on those that were had in the book titled “Global Conversations: Mexico”, published last fall. *Conversation in English
18:30
Book Presentation: Sic itur ad astra. 90 Years of GAM
Daniel Garza Usabiaga, Christian Camacho and Juan Pérez Figueroa
Friday, 6 de February de 2026
18:30
Conversations Hall
Daniel Garza Usabiaga (curator), Christian Camacho (artist GAM) and Juan Pérez Figueroa (Director, Galería de Arte Mexicano, GAM).
Presentation of the exhibition catalogue that inaugurated the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Galería de Arte Mexicano, GAM. Offering a landscape of the gallery’s history and its role in advancing Mexican art, the publication traces GAM’s legacy since its founding in 1935 as a beacon of creation and avant-garde practice. Across three generations, the gallery—founded by Inés Amor—has celebrated the talent that defines Mexico’s cultural identity. Ninety years on, this legacy continues to be honored with the same pride, passion, and commitment that have guided the gallery since its beginnings.
13:00
ZⓈONAMACO DISEÑO EMERGENTE presents: EMERGENTE, Platform and Connections
Genki Matsumura, Javier Reynaga, Katia Solórzano, and Jorge Diego Etienne
Saturday, 7 de February de 2026
13:00
Conversations Hall
Genki Matsumura (designer), Javier Reynaga (industrial designer), and Katia Solórzano (industrial designer). Moderator: Jorge Diego Etienne (Co-curator of ZⓈONAMACO DISEÑO EMERGENTE).
This conversation brings together exhibitors from previous editions of EMERGENTE to reflect on how their participation in this platform sparked professional connections, collaborations, and meaningful visibility within Mexico’s design and creative industries ecosystem. Through their personal experiences, the discussion highlights the value of EMERGENTE as a catalyst for emerging trajectories and new opportunities.
14:30
ZⓈONAMACO ARTE MODERNO presents: Art from Latin America? Definitions on Debate
Rodrigo Moura, Ana Daniela Nahmad, Itala Schmelz and Esteban King
Saturday, 7 de February de 2026
14:30
Conversations Hall
Rodrigo Moura (Artistic Director Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, MALBA), Ana Daniela Nahmad (PhD in Latin American Studies, UNAM), and Itala Schmelz (philosopher, curator and professor). Moderator: Esteban King (Curator of ZⓈONAMACO ARTE MODERNO).
This conversation explores how modern artistic practices can be understood in relation to the contested and shifting definitions that had shaped the interpretation of Latin American art. Rather than a fixed or immutable notion, this dialogue with museum and academic professionals addresses the debates surrounding art from the region, considering specific curatorial projects and objects of study that extend beyond painting into film, popular culture, and other cultural expressions.
15:00
Book Signing: FERVOR, Juan Brenner
Juan Brenner | Stand ED26 | ZⓈONAMACO LIBROS
Saturday, 7 de February de 2026
15:00
Stand ED26
Stand ED26 | ZⓈONAMACO LIBROS
FERVOR, by Juan Brenner and published by Eros Publications, is a photographic essay produced in the Guatemalan highlands that explores desire as a vital force. Through devotional practices, scenes of everyday life, and expressions of digital culture, the work centers on the figure of San Simón to examine the relationship between faith, power, and transformation. The images reveal how desire continues to operate in the present, shaping life within a territory marked by history, violence, and social tensions.
16:00
ZⓈONAMACO SUR presents: Resistance to Linear Progress
Catalina Lozano, Andrés Pereira, Paola Santos Coy and Manuela Moscoso
Saturday, 7 de February de 2026
16:00
Conversations Hall
Catalina Lozano (Chief Curator, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del País Vasco, Artium Museoa), Andrés Pereira (artist), Paola Santos Coy (Director, Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros and La Tallera). Moderator: Manuela Moscoso (Curator of ZⓈONAMACO SUR).
This conversation explores how artistic and curatorial practices circulate ideas across regions and disciplines, focusing on dialogue itself as a process, a pause, and a form of making. The speakers exchange perspectives on how contemporary art can reject the notion of linear progress and instead propose structures based on resonance, revision, and shared risk. What unites them is not a shared geography, but a commitment to the complexity of collaboration, where thinking together becomes a form of production in its own right.
17:15
Roberto Matta: Consciousness Is a Tree
Federica Matta in conversation with Daniel Garza Usabiaga
Saturday, 7 de February de 2026
17:15
Conversations Hall
Federica Matta (artist and daughter of Roberto Matta) in conversation with Daniel Garza Usabiaga (curator).
On the occasion of the exhibition "Roberto Matta: La conciencia es un árbol" (Roberto Matta: Consciousness Is a Tree), presented at Galería RGR, this conversation offers a reflection on Matta’s thought, imagination, and enduring relevance. Through a dialogue between Federica Matta and Daniel Garza Usabiaga, the discussion will explore the intellectual, poetic, and political dimensions of his work, as well as its ability to connect art, philosophy, and critical consciousness. The conversation proposes a contemporary reading of Matta, underscoring his significance within modern art history and his resonance today.
18:30
Writing the Americas
Bryan Barcena, Helena Lugo and Benjamin Sutton
Saturday, 7 de February de 2026
18:30
Conversations Hall
Bryan Barcena (West Coast Editor, Artforum International), Helena Lugo (Executive Director, Terremoto), and Benjamin Sutton, (Editor in Chief, Americas, The Art Newspaper).
While coverage of exhibitions, biennials, and other art-world related events taking place across Latin America has increased notably over the last decade, the outlets for long-form and critical writing on the region has been limited. Artforum, The Art Newspaper and Terremoto are three institutions that have consistently sought out this kind of writing and engaged with authors from a variety of disciplines to commission new texts. Editors from these outlets will meet to discuss the changing landscape of arts publishing, the evolving nature of arts coverage in Latin America, and how to provide opportunities for critical writing. *Conversation in English
12:00
PUG SEAL presents: Finding Inspiration in Mexican Art Deco and Streamline Moderne
Ricardo España, Manuel Lozano, Roberto Pariente, José Manuel Quintana, Aldo Sázen and Marc Pariente
Sunday, 8 de February de 2026
12:00
Conversations Hall
Ricardo España (Director of New Projects in AYDIA), Manuel Lozano (artist), Roberto Pariente (architect), José Manuel Quintana (Director of PUG SEAL), and Aldo Sázen (art historian and interior designer PASSUS). Moderator: Marc Pariente (art historian and interior designer).
This conversation explores the strategies implemented by Pug Seal to recover and revalue the history of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne, proposing a model of hospitality closely linked to art. The speakers also address Streamline Moderne from an architectural perspective and its contemporary representation within the hospitality sector.
13:30
ZⓈONAMACO SALÓN DEL ANTICUARIO presents: «The Salon Object», Between Memory, Nostalgia, Identity, and Heritage
Cristóbal Arias, Veka Duncan, Mario Uvence and Alfonso Miranda
ZⓈONAMACO SALÓN DEL ANTICUARIO presents: «The Salon Object», Between Memory, Nostalgia, Identity, and Heritage
Sunday, 8 de February de 2026
13:30
Conversations Hall
Cristóbal Arias (Director, Casa Museo Antonieta Rivas Mercado), Veka Duncan (art historian specializing in cultural dissemination), and Mario Uvence (antique dealer and Co-curator of ZⓈONAMACO SALÓN DEL ANTICUARIO). Moderator: Alfonso Miranda (Co-curator of ZⓈONAMACO SALÓN DEL ANTICUARIO).
“Do not follow in my footsteps; see what I saw,” declared Luis Barragán. Vision is nourished by the world and by the discovery of the found object, which becomes a personal symbol upon encounter. In art, “antiques” act as windows into pasts viewed from the present. The “salon object” exists in dialogue across time, opening this conversation within ZⓈONAMACO’s broad aesthetic spectrum. Paintings, sculptures, books, jewelry, and decorative arts produced before 1960 shape their identity through a transversal collecting effort. A meeting for the exhibition, circulation, and sale of the singular object that sparked the first desire to possess beauty transcends limits to evoke memory, contrast, nostalgia and ultimately shape our hyper-contemporary condition.
15:00
ZⓈONAMACO LIBROS presents: Critical Spaces, Editing Is Not Neutral
Javier Arjona, Ana Casas Broda, León Muñoz, Carla Zarebska and Humberto Tachiquín “Tachi”
Sunday, 8 de February de 2026
15:00
Conversations Hall
Javier Arjona (Co-Founder of RABIA), Ana Casas Broda (Co-founder of HYDRA), León Muñoz (Founder of Gato Negro Ediciones), and Carla Zarebska (Co-founder of Cooperativa La Joplin). Moderator: Humberto Tachiquín “Tachi” (Co-founder of Cooperativa La Joplin).
Through the voices of independent publishers, this conversation examines publishing as a critical practice in which the book is not merely a vehicle for content, but a space for thought, friction, and experimentation—one that articulates positions, generates dialogue, and builds community. The discussion on what it means to edit from a standpoint, how catalogs with a distinctive voice are constructed, the editorial and ethical decisions that shape projects, and what it entails to sustain independent practices in dialogue with art, theory, and contemporary social contexts.15:00
Book Signing: Hope
Cristina Mittermeier | Booth F10 | Iconic Images Gallery | ZⓈONAMACO FOTO
Sunday, 8 de February de 2026
15:00
Booth F10
Book Signing: Hope | Booth F10 | Iconic Images Gallery | ZⓈONAMACO FOTO
Cristina Mittermeier, a renowned Mexican marine biologist, activist, and pioneering conservation photographer, will be signing copies of her book Hope, available in both English and Spanish. Hope is a visual manifesto on conservation that, through a combination of photography and personal narrative, explores humanity’s deep connection with nature and the planet’s resilience. Featuring a foreword by Robert Redford, the book presents images of global biodiversity and highlights the interconnection between people and ecosystems, showcasing resilient communities and landscapes. It also offers an inspiring call to action in the face of climate anxiety and proposes solutions for a sustainable future.For conversations from past editions, click on the following button: