Community Engagement’s first arts and culture exchange program has sent artists from different local communities to the annual Akumal Arts Festival in Akumal, Mexico. Since the inception of the festival in November 2018, Community Engagement has provided sponsorships for artists to participate in this street art celebration.
These artists participate with up to 150 muralists from all over the world. Local artists from Akumal, as well as artists from the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, France, Japan, and many other countries join together and contribute their talents in this remarkable collaboration. The festival stimulates an unprecedented display of art to honor Akumal’s Mayan culture and enhances the beauty of the town.
In 2021, Community Engagement awarded a grant to Catalyst Muse to produce a short documentary film on the 4th Annual Akumal Arts Festival, its participants, founders, and the community. Completed in 2023, Beyond the Bridge captures the beauty and spirit of the festival and the power of creative placemaking.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPONSORED ARTISTS
ROGER EYES
2022
Mural | Watch Video
www.rogereyesr.com | View Artist Profile
ALICIA ROJAS
2022
See all of the 2022 Akumal Murals!
AMANDA LEIGH EVANS
2019
Lionfish is a video essay including an interview with Iran Beltran Chan, a fisherman and the former Delgado of Akumal in Quintana Roo, MX. His family was one of the first indigenous Mayan families to live the pueblo before western communities moved to the region. Chan speaks of how the pueblo has changed due to the development of tourism in Tulum and Cancun. The film contrasts the irony of eco boutique vacationing in Tulum with the negative economic, social and environmental impacts of globalization and modern colonialism.amandaleighevans.com | View Artist Profile
Tortuga Escondida Artist Residency, Akumal, Quintana Roo, MX
MARINA AGUILERA
2019
