Pop-up Exhibition Installation on show in The Lightroom at Photo Museum Ireland

LAUNCH 6.00 PM WEDNESDAY, 12 JUNE

Points of Encounter is an exhibition of the cumulation of work from The Nepantla Collective, a socially engaged initiative exploring the collective and individual experiences of Latin American migrant women in Ireland through photography.

Members of The Nepantla Collective include Silvina Sisterna, Ana Taly Sastre, Camilla Taurizano, Dania Russo, Laura Estefany Delgado Olmos, Lucila Severini, Luisa Hernandez, María Eugenia Salvador, Maura Tangara, Monica Sanchez, Rosana Lopez, and Victoria Verrastro.

The Nepantla Collective celebrates the transformative potential of photography as a bridge between communities. From its inception in August 2023, the collective has engaged in dialogical exchanges that promote critical thinking about the challenges faced as migrant women. The Collective offers participants the opportunity to reflect on their personal experiences of movement, change and the evolution of their identities in Ireland. The project empowers women to represent their narratives, fostering cross-cultural understanding and unity.

This new installation presents the Collective’s photographic experiences. Led by artist Silvina Sisterna, the project experiments with various photography techniques, including digital photography, moving images, and text. Through this creative process, participants critically examine issues of personal and cultural identity, representation, intersectional feminism, and subjective displacement here in Ireland.

About the Points of Encounter project

Points of Encounter is a ten-month project, coordinated by the visual artist, Silvina Sisterna and a group of talented women from Bolivia, México, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil interested in photography to creatively express and critically think about their experiences as migrants in Ireland. The project is informed by Gloria Anzaldúa’s theories of the borderlands, fragmentation of the identity and its permanent reconstruction.

From the use of film and digital cameras to the creation of cyanotypes and lumen prints, the collective had the opportunity to experiment playfully while engaging with each of the members in varied activities. The goal of the Nepantla Collective is not only to gain visibility and voice as a community but also to connect with the Irish audience to create bridges of dialogue, cultural interchange and mutual understanding.

The Nepantla Collective resonates with Photo Museum Ireland’s vision of ‘Photography For All’ by emphasising inclusivity, education, community engagement, empowerment, and accessibility. This project was funded by the Arts Council Artist in the Community Scheme, managed by Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts, the Photo Museum Ireland’s Artist-led Community Programme, with Silvina Sisterna’s residency at Fire Station Artists’ Studios and Temple Bar Galleries + Studios Free Space Opportunity.

The exhibition also takes place during the Latin American Week, organised by Latin American Solidarity Centre initiative that celebrates the integration of cultures from Latin America and Ireland.