Cinco de Mayo was a cross-border project developed with FIFTY24MX (Mexico City) and Inner State Gallery (Detroit) to spotlight an emerging wave of contemporary Mexican artists through a group exhibition and a parallel public mural effort in Southwest Detroit. The initiative was designed to translate the energy and iconography of this scene into both gallery and street contexts, creating multiple entry points for audiences to engage with the work.

The exhibition opened May 8 at Inner State Gallery, featuring original works by a roster of Mexican artists including Curiot, Saner, Smithe, Jesús Benitez, Ciler, Mariana Magdaleno, Marka27, Freddy Diaz, Apolo Cacho, Marina Villanueva, Violeta Hernandez, and Alonso “Chivo” Guzman, among others. In parallel, selected artists traveled from Mexico City to Detroit to produce large-scale murals across key sites in Southwest Detroit, connecting the gallery show to the neighborhood through public-space work.

My role was anchored in Mexico City. I collaborated with the Detroit gallery on curatorial development and worked closely with the invited artists from Mexico, supporting selection, planning, and coordination for the mural component before their travel and on-site execution. I also helped shape the project’s edition component, producing a limited drop of prints with select artists from the exhibition to extend the show beyond the gallery.