THE OTHER SIDE

by Monica Lozano
Curated by Sergio Arribas and Dhruv Malhotra
Opening Night. Thursday April 19th. 6:30 pm.
Artist Talk. Wednesday April 25th. 6:30pm
International Arts Movement. Space 38/39
38 West 39th Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10018

International Arts Movement presents Monica Lozano in a solo exhibition The Other Side, 3 photographic series inspired in the border town of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Monica Lozano is a Mexican American photographer born in El Paso,Texas and raised across the border in Ciudad Juarez. Before receiving her Masters degree in photography in Madrid Spain, Lozano produced Borders, a series of portraits that was selected for various international photo competitions and grants including the Air Dolomiti (Lufthansa) Photo Prize at the International Talent Support (ITS#EIGHT) competition in Italy. Lozano just finished the Photo Global residency at the School of Visual Arts in New York on a presidential scholarship. In September 2011 she was featured under the One To Watch column in American Photo Magazine. Currently she is collaborating in a global action with 2011 TED Award winner JR and his Inside Out Project after creating a massive installation in Ciudad Juarez. Lozano’s elegant and socially charged portraits have been exhibited in Italy, Spain, Germany, Mexico and the United States. International press has placed Lozano as one of Mexico’s new and contemporary young photographers.

For more information, visit www.monicalozano.com y www.internationalartsmovement.org.

ABOUT US

Project Paz is a non-profit organization created by a group of professionals living in New York City who want to promote peace in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. All the funds we raise support community development programs geared towards spreading hope to future generations and promoting peace in the region, one project at a time.

OUR MISSION

Reach out to our peers in New York and other areas to increase their awareness on the need for peace in Ciudad Juarez and involve them in our cause.

- Support different locally based organizations and promote development and the well-being of the community
- Raise funds for projects aimed at promoting peace
- Commit to take on one specific project per year
- Aim to be bring hope to the Juarez community by mobilizing the communities where we now live

Cut25 Collaborates with Project Paz in Benefit of the Children of Ciudad Juarez

In support of Projet Paz, fashion line Cut25 launches in NYC a limited edition of iPhone cases
with designs insipred on its Spring 2012 collection

The evening of February 2nd, 2012, Yigal Azrouël, Inc. will officially open in New York City the first international flagship of his fashion line Cut25 with the participation of celebrities Zelda Williams, Valerie Boster, Hayley Bloomingdale and Jaime Johnson, who join the designer to host the opening event. That same evening, Cut25 will present its limited edition of iPhone cases with proceeds benefitting the cause of Project Paz, a non-profit organization dedicated to promote peace in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Created by a group of New Yorkers from the Ciudad Juarez/El Paso area, the mission of Project Paz is to raise awareness about the social and economic challenges faced in Ciudad Juarez and to fund projects that strengthen community bonds in the region.

“We are very happy to collaborate for the second time with designer Yigal Azrouël. Thanks to supporters like him, we have been able to help underprivileged children in Ciudad Juarez to expand their knowledge and skills with after school activities,” said Carlos Armando Garcia board member of Project Paz.

These limited edition iPhone covers feature sketches from the Cut25 Spring 2012 runway collection as selected by the evening’s hosts. Four in total, the cases were named: “Yours Truly,” “The Zelda,” “Hayley’s Closet” and “Cut Up.” The iPhone cases will be available exclusively at the Cut25 flagship for $35 and 100% of the proceeds will be directed to support the mission of Project Paz. Additionally, Yigal is donating to the organization 10% of all Cut25 store proceeds from February 2th to February 5th. All funds will help Project Paz provide unprivileged children in Ciudad Juarez with a complementary visit to the interactive museum La Rodadora, an innovative culture and science center created especially for kids opening in Ciudad Juarez this April 2012.

The opening event of the first international Cut 25 flagship marks the second collaboration between Yigal Azrouel and Project Paz. In 2011, Yigal designed a one-of-a-kind dress inspired by Mexico and created with textiles from the Museo Textil de Oaxaca. The piece debuted at the November 2011 Project Art fundraiser and is available at: www.shoplatitude.com.

For more information about Project Paz, please visit www.Facebook.com/ProjectPaz and follow us in www.Twitter.com/ProjectPaz.

Astrid Hadad performs in Mexico. (Betto Arcos / NPR)

By Betto Arcos.

Javier Sicilia is a novelist and a poet. In 2009, he was awarded Mexico’s prestigious Aguascalientes National Poetry Prize. This September, he read a poem dedicated to his son, Juan Francisco, at a rally:

There is nothing else to say

The world is not worthy of the word

They drowned it, deep inside of us
As they asphyxiated you
As they ripped your lungs apart
And the pain does not leave me

All we have is a world

For the silence of the just

Only for your silence and my silence, Juanelo.

This was the last poem Sicilia wrote. His son was murdered in the central state of Morelos in March, along with six other people, by members of a drug cartel.

READ MORE: http://t.co/WTCmDusM

By Bee-Shyuan Chang (Style.com).

Mexico has a special place in the fashion lexicon—just head to Tulum come the end of December—so it was no surprise that so many savvy young industry players pitched in at Project Paz’s second annual Project Art fundraiser. The nonprofit, which supports peace in Ciudad Juárez, raised $140,000 for the cause. Photographer Sophie Elgort, daughter of Arthur, arrived promptly at 9 p.m. to set up her digital photo booth. Portrait prints went for a cool $100, with proceeds going to the charity. “There’s so many cute dresses here,” she admired. “I’m taking notes.”

Speaking of dresses, Rag & Bone, Yigal Azrouël, and Peter Som, among others, designed one-of-a-kind frocks made of traditional Mexican textiles for the occasion; they were available for sale via stationed iPads at ShopLatitude.com. Phillip Lim opted for a less conventional approach…

Read More: http://tinyurl.com/csfmd95

Project Paz Raises $140,000 for after school programs for children in Ciudad Juárez

Project Art Fashion and Art Fundraiser Draws High-Profile Crowd, Raises $140,000

In an effort to promote peace in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Project Paz, L-atitude and Banamex presented this November 8, 2011 the event Project Art, raising funds through an art auction and fashion sale at 82 Mercer in New York City.

At the event, far-flung fashion e-commerce site, L-atitude, showcased the buzzed about custom fashion collection- dresses and accessories made by 13 acclaimed designers: Christian Cota, Juan Carlos Obando, Michael Bastian, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Wes Gordon, Thakoon, Yigal Azroël, Peter Som, Rag and Bone, Sara Beltran, Anndra Neen, Eddie Borgo and Alejandro Ingelmo, using traditional Mexican fabrics. Each of the one-of-a-kind fashion items, as well as dedicated Project Paz products (t-shirts by Samudra and string bracelets by Dezso) are available for purchase on www.shoplatitude.com. Alongside the fashion installation, a short, artistic film shot by Ruven Afanador featuring flickering images of the custom dresses on a Frida Kahlo look-a-like, played continuously.

In addition to the sale of the capsule collection, the event featured both a live and silent auction showcasing works of art created by influential artists such as Patti Smith, Paris Kain and Moza Saracho. The fashion, art and ticket sales helped to raise over $140,000 for the cause.

Celebrated guests including Peter Som, Diego Boneta, Alejandro Ingelmo, Eddie Borgo, Thakoon, Yigal Azrouel, Michelle Harper, and Woody Johnson were present at the star-studded gala, where Margarita Zavala, the First Lady of Mexico, made a statement in support of Project Paz’s commitment to community development in underdeveloped neighborhoods in the region.

The money raised at the event will specifically help fund a program by the Fundación del Empresariado Chihuahuense, A.C. (FECHAC), Ampliando el Desarrollo de los Niños (ADN), which translates to extending the children’s development. In an effort to keep children living in marginalized areas in Juarez from falling prey to gang violence, ADN creates after school activities for them to have a safe place to learn and extend their academic skills.

All donations are currently being directed to the El Paso Community Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 Non-profit organization that is the fiscal agent for Project Paz.

Photo from LA Times. Credit: Sony Mutek.

by Daniel Hernandez.

Known by his DJ name Mock The Zuma, Santana is part of a loose generation of electronic musicians and producers based predominantly in Mexico’s northern region that are attracting attention among tastemakers in the capital and in Latino-heavy cities north of the border.

Their cutting-edge sounds draw on diverse Latin American rhythms — such as cumbia and son — filtered through easy-to-access editing software that allows the music-makers to mix, scratch, and cut it all up with spacey and aggressive electronic beats.

READ MORE: http://t.co/c4SkyNuz 

L-atitude & Project Paz: Fashion for a Good Cause

Partnership combines fashion and philanthropy in a one-of-a-kind collection designed to promote peace in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

In partnership with online retailer L-atitude, Project Paz launches an exclusive collection of thirteen one-off-a-kind dresses and custom accessories with proceeds benefiting the Ciudad Juarez community. Participating American- based designers are: 3.1 Phillip Lim, Thakoon, Eddie Borgo, Yigal Azrouël, Peter Som, Wes Gordon, Rag & Bone, Sara Beltran, Anndra Neen, Christian Cota, Juan Carlos Obando, Michael Bastian and Alejandro Ingelmo.

L-atitude unveiled collection during the 2011 Project Art event in New York City, and it is available at shoplatitude.com. The common thread? Each dress and accessory was crafted from one of the ten unique bolts of traditional, hand-woven Mexican fabric, generously donated by The Museo Regional de Oaxaca. One hundred percent of the proceeds are destined to support Project Paz with a program to help keep youth away from local gangs.

Formed by professionals originally from the Ciudad Juarez/El Paso area and living in NYC, Project Paz seeks to promote peace and contribute to the Ciudad Juarez community. L-atitude’s ethos of local business representation aligns with Project Paz’s mission; the partnership is a prime opportunity to build awareness together about the current challenges faced in Ciudad Juarez, a border community with important historical and economic ties to the United States.

To provide ongoing support, in early 2012 L-atitude will add Mexico City to its elite list of online shopping destinations and offer ten percent of online sales from this collection to Project Paz.

To shop the Project Paz collection, visit shoplatitude.com.

by Maria Cortés Gonzalez / El Paso Times.

Sergio Urias has built a successful career as a corporate lawyer in New York for the past 13 years.

And yet his heart is still in Juárez. He yearns for the Juárez he knew growing up as a child, when he could ride his bike around the town or go to school without any fears.

“I’m a product of that Juárez that a lot of us have in our minds – of giving so much culturally and that sense of trying to excel at whatever you do. Maybe it’s because of the immigrants who came for work in the maquiladoras, but people always wanted to improve their status quo. And you don’t get (that) in other cities south of Mexico. They conform to what they have.”

READ MORE: http://www.elpasotimes.com/living/ci_19223200

María Cortés González/El Paso Times.

Sergio Urias ha desarrollado una carrera exitosa como abogado corporativo en Nueva York durante los últimos 13 años. Pero su corazón continúa en Juárez.

Urias añora la ciudad en la que creció y en donde podía pasear en bicicleta o ir a la escuela sin temor.

“Soy producto de ese Juárez que muchos de nosotros conservamos en nuestras memorias. Del lugar que ha dado tanto, culturalmente hablando, y en donde tratábamos de sobresalir en cualquier cosa que emprendiéramos. Quizá gracias a los inmigrantes que llegaron a trabajar en las maquiladoras pero la gente siempre trataba de mejorar su nivel de vida. Eso no se ve en otras ciudades al sur del país en donde se conforman con lo que tienen”.

“Era una ciudad increíble”, agregó. Ese amor por su tierra natal ha llevado a Urias y otros jóvenes oriundos de Juárez y El Paso, quienes actualmente radican en Nueva York, a unirse por una causa en común.

LEER MÁS: http://bit.ly/rAhBmg