The Lit & Luz Festival...

began in 2012, unofficially, with a series of live, bilingual events following the release of MAKE Magazine issue #13, “Intercambio/Exchange,” a bilingual edition featuring new work from Latin American writers and created in response to the dismal amount of translated literature available in the US.

In 2014, through a grant from the MacArthur Foundation’s International Connections Fund, the Lit & Luz Festival was formed to support the creation of new art through international collaboration and make space for essential dialogues between residents of Mexico and the United States. It has since produced yearly events in Mexico City and Chicago, with writers and artists from Chicago, Mexico, and beyond.

MAKE Literary Production’s 10th annual Lit & Luz Festival of Language, Literature, and Art, themed “TEN” is a hybrid festival presented in venues throughout Chicago and online. Throughout the week’s dozen programs, we participants will address the the impact of current social and political events on their practices and the arts, in general. Once again, the festival features its signature program, the Live Magazine Show, featuring new collaborations and presentations from this year’s Collaboration Cohort at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, October 21st.

At its heart, Lit & Luz is a cultural exchange between writers and visual artists from Mexico and United States. With the festival taking place first in Chicago, then Mexico City, it is a conversation between two countries. We choose to focus on collaborations in order to foster meaningful and lasting professional relationships and cross-cultural friendships. Past participants include luminaries such as Cristina Rivera Garza, Valeria Luiselli, José Olivarez, Jac Jemc, and Erika L. Sánchez.

Art and language are key to understanding culture and community. With events such as Lit & Luz, we hope to strengthen the relationship between the two countries, and in particular, to increase the distribution of literature and art between Mexico and the US.

Support our free programming with your donation.

 

2023-24 Team

Lit & Luz is produced by MAKE Literary Productions, NFP

Creative Director and Website Design: MAKE & Co.

Managing Director: Sarah Dodson

Assistant Managing Director, Chicago: Mario Gastelum

Assistant Managing Director, Mexico City:  David Ruano

Partnerships & Sponsorships Coordinator: Angelica Davila

Literary Arts Director / Lit & Luz Book Club Founder and Director: Miguel Jiménez

Founding Artistic Director: Daniel Borzutzky

Visual Arts Director, Mexico City: Esteban King

Visual Arts Director, Chicago: Zespo Velazquez

Artistic Associates, Collaboration Cohort: Joel Craig and Kamilah Foreman

Collaboration Cohort Coordinator: Amanda Goldblatt

Live Magazine Show Managing Director, Chicago:  Madeline Nesbitt

Exhibition Curatorial Team: Esteban King, Nicky Ni, and Caleigh Stephens

Writing Workshops Coordinator: Antonio Díaz Oliva

Media Relations Coordinator: Alisha Gorder 

Assitant Media  Coordinator: Pedro Pablo Marín

Social Media Coordinator: Sarug Sarano

Translation and Editorial: Ana Lucía Cornejo, Ryan Greene, and Claudia di Ibieta

Programming Associates: Jessica Anne, Héctor García Chávez, and Kathleen Rooney

Advisory Council: Susy Bielak, Gibran Villalobos, and Kirsten Leenaars

Development: John W. Bateman

 

MAKE Literary Productions Board of Directors:

Sarah Dodson, Executive Director, MAKE Literary Productions

Natalie Edwards, Director of Major and Planned Giving, The Newberry

Kamilah Foreman, Director of Publications, Dia: Foundation

Héctor García Chávez, President, Ph.D., Director, Latin American and Latinx Studies Program, Loyola University Chicago

Laurie Sartain, Vice President, Debt Asset Management, PCCP, LLC

Mike Zapata, Author

 
 
 

Lit & Luz is produced by MAKE Literary Productions, NFP, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Donate.