DEMOCRATIC AND OPEN MAIL ART: TRANSGRESSORS IN CALIFORNIA

California Museum of Photography in Riverside, UCR ARTS and the Getty Research Institute present Transgresoras: Mail Art and Messages, 1960s–2020s, an exhibition exploring how Latinx and Latin American women artists harnessed the postal system to subvert censorship and circulate their work as acts of political resistance and creative expression. After its debut in Riverside, it will travel nationally in an exhibition tour organized and sponsored by Art Bridges.

Bringing together works by over 50 artists and spanning over seven decades, the exhibition addresses a significant gap in art historical scholarship by bringing together works that have remained largely unknown and under-researched. Through an intergenerational approach, Transgresoras presents historical visual poetry, drawings, prints, performance documentation, video, and photography—alongside contemporary works by artists who continue to employ correspondence in their practices.

Featured artists include Anna Bella Geiger, Cecilia Vicuña, Graciela Gutiérrez Marx, Liliana Porter, Magali Lara, Marta Minujín, Mónica Mayer, Regina Silveira, Rosa de la Montaña (aka Teddy Sandoval), Virginia Errázuriz, as well as a younger generation of artists, such as Amalia Pica, Beatriz Cortez, Carmen Argote, Carolina Caycedo, Clarissa Tossin, Gala Porras-Kim, Giana de Dier, Marilyn Boror Bor, and Regina José Galindo, Voluspa Jarpa, among others.

The exhibition will feature dynamic displays of postcards, drawings, textile and video works, sculpture, installations, and an interactive maker space. “There was a real lack in the field,” explains co-curator Zanna Gilbert, Senior Research Specialist at the Getty Research Institute. “The research hadn’t been done. There was no way to read about these artists’ contributions to Mail Art. We wanted to create a resource for students and future artists while highlighting women’s vital role in this movement.”

Transgresoras maps a subversive network that bypassed institutional gatekeeping and built solidarity across borders. For many Latin American women artists working under authoritarian regimes, the postal service provided a crucial means of evading censorship and creating platforms for political protest and artistic exchange.

“Many of the artists we focus on started out in authoritarian contexts, where there were significant limits on what could be said and expressed,” notes co-curator Elena Shtromberg, Professor of Art History at the University of Utah. “Mail Art created a practice that was meant to be democratic and open—everyone could participate.”

The exhibition is organized around six intergenerational constellations: Visual Poetry Networks; Mail Art Correspondences and Feminist Collectivity; Postcards, Paperwork and Rubber Stamping; Censorship and Clandestine Communication; At a Distance: Migration and Family Separation; and Ecocritical and Decolonial Strategies.

Transgresoras aims to establish a lasting resource for scholars, students, and artists while creating new dialogues between generations of artists. New audio interviews with select artists will be presented as part of the exhibition experience.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a richly illustrated catalog with scholarly essays, copublished by UCR ARTS and X Artists’ Books and designed by Impresos México in early 2026.

Transgresoras: Mail Art and Messages, 1960s–2020s will be on display until February 15, 2026, at UCR ARTS California Museum of Photography, 3824 & 3834 Main Street, Riverside, California (United States).

*Cover image: Virginia Errázuriz, Untitled, from the series Cancelados, c. 1979. Letter-sized envelope and photocopy intervened with rubber stamp and handwritten inscription. 9 ½ x 13 ¼ inches. © Virginia Errázuriz.