UNDOC+Collective is established!

After a series of digital gatherings April 9th, 2022 is the first official meeting of UNDOC+Collective between Cuatlacuatl, Hirugami, and a few other co-conspirators.

UNDOC+ Residency

Alongside our co-conspirators at Visible Records, we launched the first ever summer residency for artists in the UNDOC+ spectrum. Funding was secured, a location was selected, and an open call was released.

First UNDOC+ Exhibition

First exhibition in the history of the nation to focus exclusively on undocumentedness by featuring the works of artists in the UNDOC+ spectrum (currently or formerly undocumented). Cuatlacuatl's work is featured in Pertenecer | Encarnar: Aesthetics of Undocumentedness curated by Hirugami. The exhibition catalog for this curatorial project marks UNDOC+Collective's first publication.

"To understand the complexity of belonging to the undocumented community, the undoc+ spectrum and undocumented diaspora emerge to tease out undocumentedness. Individuals within the undoc+ spectrum have lived or are currently living undocumented, whereas individuals in the undocumented diaspora are directly or indirectly affected by undocumentedness but have not embodied undocumentedness themselves. Examples of the undoc+ spectrum are current or former undocumented individuals, while examples of individuals in the undocumented diaspora are children or partners of individuals in the undoc+ spectrum." - Hirugami

UNDOC+ Symposium

The nation’s first convening of its kind, to axis the knowledge of undocreatives (undoc+ creatives). A pioneering gathering held at the University of Virginia's Rotunda. Designed by Thomas Jefferson, to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason."

UNDOC+ Workshop

Led by undocreatives, this free art-making workshop gathered people at our partner site Visible Records to discuss migration, immigration, and undocumentedness concerns, focusing on shared joyous experiences.

LACMA x ASU (Lecture)

Hirugami is invited by LACMA x ASU to speak on Undocreative Labor in the Arts Industries, where she joins other curators as part of the series Navigating Change in Museums. .

Standord University (Partnership)

UNDOC+Collective partners with Stanford University to sponsor our inaugural summer intern who works closely with many of the extended members of the collective.

Define American (Publication)

With our friends at Define American and Undocu Filmmakers Collective we launched an Inclusive Guide for Supporting Immigrant, Migrant, and Undocumented Artists with Fellowships, Grants, and Residencies; Creativity is Boundless.

"While U.S. immigration policy may appear complex, organizations have the ability to adjust internal policies to make fellowships, grants, and residencies accessible to immigrant, migrant, and undocumented applicants. With rare exceptions, it is legally permissible for funders and grant-making organizations to award grants, residencies, and fellowships to immigrant artists regardless of if those artists have work authorization and/or a Social Security Number. Learn more.

UNDOC+ at Visible Records (Exhibition)

Entre Nos• 우리는 서로 • Sa’tin – Sa’tin lang • Giữa chúng ta • Amongst Ourselves: Aesthetics of Undocumentedness; a collective exhibition of UNDOC+ individuals whose artworks woven together serve to outline the aesthetics of undocumentedness expanding beyond the contemporary geographical territory of the United States to create community amongst individuals whose ancestral lineages predate the modern nations of Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, México, Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

Residency

Artists Rommy Torrico and Sonia Guiñansaca were selected as the 2023 Inaugural Artist in Residency Cohort, launched in partnership with Visible Records in Charlottesville, VA.

Arts for LA (Publication)

UNDOC+Collective partnered with Arts for LA to develop a series of guidelines for arts professionals and institutions to center undocreative labor in their daily practices.

"This report serves as witness to the undocumented labor force of the LA creative industries, an essential community within the arts sector. Today, there is a widespread lack of awareness of this segment of the population within the arts and culture community, underscoring the need for improved systems and practices to promote the inclusion and vitality of undocumented artists and arts professionals. This analysis utilizes testimonios to highlight undocreative lived experiences, the systemic challenges undocreatives face, and the support that undocreatives need from the arts sector." - Erika Hirugami.

Agnes Scott College (Exhibition)

The artworks in this exhibition are a multiplicity of remembrances that together outline the embodiment of undocumentedness as a mediation of hope. Through the collective cacophony of visual depictions in this exhibition, artists in the undoc+ spectrum confront their inner longing while honoring and affirming their cultural heritages. It is through collective recollections, testimonios, and recounting of oral traditions that this community thrives, is cared for, and stays safe. The exhibition catalog for this curatorial project is UNDOC+Collective's second publication. Learn more.

Mississipi State University (Lecture)

Cuatlacuatl and Hirugami are invited to lecture at MSU regarding the aesthetics of undocumentedness.

SMFA at TUFTS University (Lecture)

Hirugami lectures regarding the Aesthetics of Undocumentedness for TUFTS University.

CÉFIRO at Texas Tech University (Lecture)

Cuatlacuatl lectures on transnational Nahua UNDOC+ migrations for Texas Tech University.

MOCA Arlington (Exhibition)

Cuatlacuatl's aesthetic oeuvre is featured in a solo exhibition entitled Tiaxcas Intergalácticxs, Topileastronauticxs, at MOCA Arlington; Hirugami's essay Tiaxcas Intergalacticxs Topileaustronauticxs: In cuacualtzin ihcuac ahmo mopia is featured in the accompanying exhibition catalog.

Political Art Action (Publication)

Hirugami's 15th publication is released via Impronta Casa Editorial in Guadalajara México. Political Art Action: Aesthetics of Undocumentedness, focuses on the aesthetic achievements of an artist in the undocumented diaspora. The publication calls into question citizenship and nationality while examining the aesthetics of bureaucracy. Learn more.

Ambassadors to México and Spain

In lieu of transnational upcoming projects bringing together artists and scholars across nations, Cuatlacuatl and Hirugami met with the ambassadors to the United States from México and Spain for a discussion regarding political concerns that culturally affect migrants, immigrants, and other communities globally.

Juntos (Conference)

Cuatlacuatl and Hirugami gathered with scholars in the University of Virginia and its surroundings to discuss upcoming projects centering on migrant sovereignty.

Latin American Studies Association (Lecture)

Hirugami delivers the Presidential Keynote at LASA entitled, Weaving the Aesthetics of Undocumentedness, focusing on the aesthetic practice of Porfirio Gutiérrez.

Abolish ICE Mercado (Mutual Aid)

UNDOC+Collective, alongside various partners, gathered artwork from over two hundred artists in the United States and México, to host a series of Art Markets. 100% proceeds directly benefited UNDOC+ Angelinos following a series of federally funded raids and deportation waves.

Fuego Eterno (Exhibition)

Curated by Erika Hirugami and featuring Federico Cuatlacuatl, Fuego Eterno: Soberanías Visuales aesthetically departs from a critical interrogation of nation and citizenship as a concrete hope to create sovereign solidarities. The exhibition brought together Ayuujk (Mixe), Nahua, Maya-Ch’ol, Ñuu Savi (Mixtec), Otomí, Maya-Kaqchikel, P’urhépecha, Diidxazà, Maya-Tsotsil, Zapotec, and Sarhua pueblos originarios.

Political Art Action (Performance)

Diez Pasos Hacia la Muerte by Marilyn Boror Bor. The last sentence on the grave marker, “in memory of the orphaned Mayan bodies upon which the racist nation-state of Guatemala has inflicted violence,” denounces the atrocities upon the indigenous communities that nation-building in Guatemala has caused.

Soberanías Visuales (Symposium)

Colliding the knowledge of individuals whose ancestral lineage predates Spanish colonialism. Bringing together artists and scholars from México, the United States, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Peru, Bolivia, the Philippines, Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Equatorial Guinea.

Community Retreat (Gathering)

Cuatlacuatl and Hirugami joined people who center millennia of inherited epistemologies from their lineages within their bodies of work, such as but not limited to Ayuujk (Mixe), Nahua, Ñuu Savi (Mixtec), Otomí, P’urhépecha, Diidxazà, Maya-Kaqchikel, Ch’ol, Tsotsil, Zapotec, and Sarhua.

Institute of Contemporary Art (Lecture)

Cuatlacuatl joins the Institute of Contemporary Art in Virginia Commonwealth University in partnership with VCUarts and VCU Humanities Research Center to discuss transborder Nahua Futurism.

Quemarle Las Patas al Imperio (Premier)

An atemporal perspective of Federico Cuatlacuatl Experimental Film(s) curated by Erika Hirugami. Featured works and conversation discussed how immigration, migration, and undocumentedness have recently taken on heightened importance in contrast to the political climate of the nation.

Fowler Museum (Publication)

Publication featuring individuals in the undoc+ spectrum aesthetically exploring undocumentedness, the complexity of immigration journeys, hyperdocumentation, re-indigenizing in diaspora, immigrant labor, healing from immigrant trauma, imperfect solidarities with exile and refugee communities, and remembrance of those who perished in search of the American dream. The names of all participants have been purposefully concealed for their protection..

Grand Park (Gathering)

VendorFest Night Market, a large-scale civic celebration honoring the legacy and entrepreneurship of the undoc+ street vendors who nourish Los Angeles to celebrate the immigrant culture that shapes our community.

Blade of Grass (Fellowship)

Cuatlacuatl & Hirugami received a Fellowship from A Blade of Grass and became part of the 2026 Fellowship cohort.

Pátzcuaro Michoacán (Gathering)

Celebrating four years of UNDOC+Collective Cuatlacuatl and Hirugami gathered to restructure the collective's goals.

Berkeley (Lecture)

Cuatlacuatl joins the History of Art department to present his most recent artistic productions, highlighting spatial and temporal emancipatory practices for enduring ongoing displacements.

LMU Munich (Lecture)

Cuatlacuatl joins Global Dis:connect Käte Hamburger Research Center in cooperation with the Käte Hamburger Center for Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, to discuss transnational migrations.

FEMSA x MARCO (Seminar)

Hirugami led a seminar entitled "Estética: Descolonización, Rematriación, Indigenización y Emigraciones" hosted by the FEMSA Collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Monterrey (México).