“Ex-Votos” and Popular Art Panel

Historically, ex-votos have been overlooked and classified as folk art or “popular” art. But these small devotional paintings, the center of our current exhibition, “Contemporary Ex-Votos: Devotion Beyond Medium,” deserve a second look.

What does popular art even mean? How have classifications of ex-votos as “curious” and “naive” undermined their importance as both art and devotional objects? And, what resonance do ex-votos carry when put into conversation with contemporary Latinx art?

To answer these questions, join “Contemporary Ex-Votos” curator Dr. Emmanuel Ortega, art history PhD candidates Mariela Espinoza-León and Joshua Gomez-Ortega, and religious studies scholar Barbara Sostaita for a conversation rethinking ex-votos’ relationship to contemporary and “popular” art.