History and identity are expressed —not only on static surfaces like canvas and page— but through public spaces and live performances. This lecture moves from walls and paintings to stages, streets, and lived experiences, showing how art becomes a living record of cultural memory and belonging.

History and identity are expressed —not only on static surfaces like canvas and page— but through public spaces and live performances. This lecture moves from walls and paintings to stages, streets, and lived experiences, showing how art becomes a living record of cultural memory and belonging.

Can a wall tell a story? Can dance keep history alive? In The Living Canvas: Identity, Art, and Performance in the Hispanic World, Amy E. Wright takes audiences on a brief but colorful journey —from murals and marketplaces, to theater and storytelling— in streets and squares throughout the Americas. With memorable examples from Latin America and US Latino communities, she reveals how artists and performers down the years have transformed everyday spaces into living canvases for preserving memory, celebrating identities, and creating meaning.

Speaker Bio

Amy E. Wright is currently serving as Whichard Distinguished Professor in the Humanities at East Carolina University. Specializing in Mexican and Latin American culture, she is the author of Serial Mexico: Storytelling Across Media, from Nationhood to Now. Her work explores how stories move across media to shape history and community.