Performing Craft in Mexico : Artisans, Aesthetics, and the Power of Translation

Performing Craft in Mexico examines how Mexican artisans and diverse actors perform as translators of aesthetics, politics, and history through the field of craft.

The contributors build from historical and ethnographic archives and direct engagement with makers to reassemble an expanded vision of artisanal production and the complicated classifications that surround Mexican popular art-making—from the Anglo term “craft” to the Spanish term “artesanía.” This book also homages Dr. Janet Brody Esser’s research on the Blackmen masquerades of Michoacán, exploring African history and presence in Mexico.

The contributors provide wide-ranging insight into the agency, history, and contemporary world of Mexican makers and other entangled actors in the field of craft.