Two Museums, Two Nations, One Identity, 2011-2012.

The project:

A one year, transnational photography outreach project between youth in Washington, DC and in El Salvador, funded by the U.S. Department of State's and American Association of Museums' Museums Connect initiative, in collaboration with AMA:Art Museum of the Americas, Corcoran College of Art and Design and LAYC: Latin American Youth Center in Washington, DC and MARTE: Museo de Arte de El Salvador and Casas de la Cultura de El Salvador de la Secretaría de Cultura de El Salvador. Generous in-kind support provided by Nikon and Furthermore.

Muriel Hasbun served as curriculum advisor, teacher and curator for the project while her students at the Corcoran College of Art and Design became mentors to a diverse group of youth in Washington, DC and in El Salvador.

The exhibition:

The exhibition at AMA and at MARTE brought together works made by Salvadoran and Washington DC youth, as well as photographs made by Corcoran students during a Study Away trip to El Salvador in March 2012. The exhibition reveals an evolving dialogue of what it means to be a young person with multiple cultural allegiances in a mediated world. Their world exists in both places, and is marked by far away relatives and elusive memories. Hybridity and constant re-negotiation and re-invention become part of their interactions and their outlook. And the process of looking leads the way.

The video:

The collaborative video explores creativity and play, migration, and the sounds of Spanglish! The video serves as a mini document of the process of the workshops in Washington DC and in El Salvador. Edited by Corcoran mentors Rebekah Purcell and Carlos Vargas, with Muriel Hasbun. Footage by DC youth, Corcoran mentors and Muriel Hasbun.

Two Museums, Two Nations, One Identity exhibition,  AMA and MARTE, 2012.

Photo by Hayzel Serrano, 2012.

The exhibition, curated by Muriel Hasbun, in collaboration with Corcoran students and workshop participants, brought together works made by Salvadoran and Washington DC youth, as well as photographs made by Corcoran students during a Study Away trip to El Salvador in March 2012. The exhibition reveals an evolving dialogue of what it means to be a young person with multiple cultural allegiances in a mediated world. Their world exists in both places, and is marked by far away relatives and elusive memories. Hybridity and constant re-negotiation and re-invention become part of their interactions and their outlook. And the process of looking leads the way.

Two Museums, Two Nations, One Identity exhibition,  AMA and MARTE, 2012.

Photo by Jessika Martinez, 2012.

The exhibition, curated by Muriel Hasbun, in collaboration with Corcoran students and workshop participants, brought together works made by Salvadoran and Washington DC youth, as well as photographs made by Corcoran students during a Study Away trip to El Salvador in March 2012. The exhibition reveals an evolving dialogue of what it means to be a young person with multiple cultural allegiances in a mediated world. Their world exists in both places, and is marked by far away relatives and elusive memories. Hybridity and constant re-negotiation and re-invention become part of their interactions and their outlook. And the process of looking leads the way.



Two Museums, Two Nations, One Identity exhibition,  AMA and MARTE, 2012.

Self portrait, Hayzel Serrano, 2012.

The exhibition, curated by Muriel Hasbun, in collaboration with Corcoran students and workshop participants, brought together works made by Salvadoran and Washington DC youth, as well as photographs made by Corcoran students during a Study Away trip to El Salvador in March 2012. The exhibition reveals an evolving dialogue of what it means to be a young person with multiple cultural allegiances in a mediated world. Their world exists in both places, and is marked by far away relatives and elusive memories. Hybridity and constant re-negotiation and re-invention become part of their interactions and their outlook. And the process of looking leads the way.

Two Museums, Two Nations, One Identity workshop, MARTE, 2012.

El Salvador participant, Emelie, shows off her Fernando Llort inspired cross in front of one of his paintings at MARTE. © Muriel Hasbun.

Two Museums, Two Nations, One Identity workshop, MARTE, 2012.

Corcoran student Rebekah Purcell and participants record each other while talking about their cherished object. © Tiph Browne

Muriel Hasbun taught El museo como recinto de paz/ The museum as a haven of peace at MARTE, San Salvador, EL Salvador, on Saturday, March 10, 2012 for 60 youth, with the assistance of eight Corcoran mentors and Corcoran faculty Susan Sterner. Hasbun conceived a workshop that took the recent destruction of the mural by Fernando Llort on the façade of San Salvador’s main cathedral as basis for the exploration of cultural heritage. Youth were asked to think of an object that they held most dear, while Corcoran students recorded the interviews with them. This also prompted discussions about migration and memory.

Two Museums, Two Nations, One Identity workshop, MARTE, 2012.

El Salvador participant shows the yo-yo that her sister left her when she immigrated to the U.S. © Windrose Stanback.