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The Universidad Autónoma Chapingo (UACh), through its maximum academic authority, the rector Dr. Aureliano Peña Lomelí, respectfully invites you to the crystallization of a stimulating goal of spiritual enrichment: The First International Biennial of Contemporary Art “Art With Roots in the Earth”, which will be held in the installations of our university from November 7 to 19 of 2008.
This event will unite the creative efforts of artists from various parts of the world in a fraternal dialogue of form and color, in an amalgam of different visions of reality. In the words of the illustrious Mexican author Carlos Fuentes, “for culture to live, it is indispensible for universities to provide spaces in which reflection, investigation and criticism prevail; these are the ramparts that we must erect against intolerance, dishonesty and violence”.
We trust that you share with us a vested interest in encouraging projects that strengthen the spirit of free men committed to the well being of their nation, and sincerely hope that you will soon contact our institution to join this cultural venture which we have set forth to accomplish.
The University Autónoma Chapingo, institution with a legacy of more than 150 years in addressing the problems of the agronomical sphere in academic endeavor, investigation, promotion of culture and community service, extends an invitation to artists throughout the world to participate in this event, in the areas of painting, sculpture and graphic expression.
Our Alma Mater is located in the central region of the Mexican Republic, in the municipality of Texcoco, State of Mexico, only a short distance (26 kilometers) from the nation’s capitol, Mexico City. The city of Texcoco boasts a rich prehispanic tradition and was the cradle of the poet king Nezahualcoyotl (1402-1472), statesman, architect, theologian and astronomer who bequeathed us the immortal beauty of his verses: “Is our existence really rooted to the earth?/ Not forever on the earth/ Only a little while here”. The UACh is also located close to Teotihuacan (“place of the gods), imposing ceremonial center of the ancient Mexicans, where the visitor can experience the penetrating silence of the Avenue of the Dead and admire the intense magical cosmovision of the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon.
The UACh is a public institution which offers education at the preparatory, university and post-graduate level, providing its students (a considerable percentage of whom comes from rural areas from all parts of the country), free of charge, with a system of educational and support services that permit students to dedicate full time to the academic, cultural, sports and recreational activities.
We are proud to mention that Chapingo has been fully dedicated to teaching the cultivation of the earth and man since 1854, when it was created as the Escuela Nacional de Agricultura. Since 1924, our motto has been “Teach the exploitation of the Earth, not of Man”, and has been committed to the creation of a more just society.
The present rector of the UACh, Dr. Aureliano Peña Lomelí, reaffirms the high responsibility of the University, “its functions include the development of scientific investigation for obtaining the best use of the natural resources, and to preserve and reproduce them, as well as to strive though its activities of service and promotion, so that the technological innovations are made available to the rural sector, in order to achieve a higher standard of living for the population”.
The UACh has a long tradition in the formation of professionals with international prestige, such as Efraím Hernández Xolocotsi, professor of Mexican Ethnobotany and renowned for his studies of traditional agricultural systems; Dr. Fidel Márquez Sánchez, specialist in Methods of Genetic Improvement of Corn, and Dr. Arturo Fregoso Urbina, Mathematician and Philosopher of Science and Religion.
A special category corresponds to the work of Dr. Erick Estrada Lugo, who, since 1980 has developed a University Program of Medicinal Plants, and herbal formulas such as Hierba del Sapo which is used to eliminate cholesterol, triglycerides, gallstones and diseases of the liver, as well as Guazuma, which has been used successfully to treat patients with diabetes.
Undeniably, a Center of Higher Education has the primary obligation of establishing links and designing strategies for the agricultural, forestry and environmental sectors. In addition, it is essential to consolidate an integral education with a profound humanistic vision, in which artistic manifestations must form part.
Thus, it is the responsibility of the Dirección General de Difusión Cultural y Servicio, headed by M.I. Martín Soto Escobar, to insure that the fields of science and technology remain connected to the seed of creation that is awakened by contact with poetry, dance, theater, fine arts, music and film.
Chapingo has the privilege of housing a muralistic treasure which includes the master piece of Diego Rivera painted in 1927 in the interior of the chapel, located in the rectory building, entitled Hymn to the Earth. Two recent murals which have enriched this legacy are the murals painted by Luis Nishizawa in the newly restored Parthenon building and a mosaic mural by Jorge Díaz Rivera, entitled Symphony of Mother Earth.
Also important to mention is the existence of a Portrait Gallery (conceived by the illustrious engineer Marte R. Gómez) of Directors of the Escuela Nacional de Agricultura and Rectors of the present day Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, painted by important Mexican artists such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, Gerardo Murillo (Dr. Atl), David Alfaro Siqueiros, Angelina Beloff, María Izquierdo, Juan O’Gorman, Xavier Guerero, Olga Costa and Manuel Rodríguez Lozano, among others.
Some of the cultural activities of the UACh are the Book Fair, the National Fair of Rural Culture, the International Children’s (and the Not So Young) Film Fest, Health and Sexuality Week, the National Week of Science and Technology, and the Traditional Medicine Fair, among other activities that are held each year, and which confirm or comply with the aspirations once expressed by the Nobel Prize of Literature winner Joseph Brodski, who stated: “we are now five billion, and for a human being there is no other future than that which is drawn by art. Otherwise, what awaits us is the past”.
Therefore, the Organizing Committee considers that the First Biennial of the coming year will be a splendid event, which will give forth an artistic, academic and social encounter focused on the earth, and a magna exposition of works in various spaces of the university (main entrance, Museo Nacional de Agricultura, auditoriums Álvaro Carrillo and Emiliano Zapata), which will host art exhibits, conferences, workshops and artistic performances. Without a doubt, the Biennial “Art With Roots In the Earth will be a live platform that will give the public the opportunity to experience the multiple visual manifestations with a diversity of themes and aesthetic approaches, and will contribute to the dialogue and brotherhood of peoples in this spiritual embrace of artistic expression and the land.
We conclude this introductory journey or invitation to the birth of “Art With Roots in the Earth”, with the words pronounced by Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations during the IV International Art Biennial held in 2003, in the city of Florence, Italy: “Artists have a special task in the struggle for peace. Artists not only speak to people but speak for people. Art is a weapon against ignorance and hatred, and represents the human conscience…Art opens new doors to learning, to understanding to freedom and peace among people and nations”.

Sincerely,
The Organizing Committee