A Place Worth Visiting – West

The “dairy experience” is something we can relate to as migrants in Aotearoa. There is a familiarity in entering these spaces which are generally owned by other migrants.

Back home, la tienda (the dairy) symbolises the familiarity of permanence. It is also an exchange space, where oral interaction is short but meaningful. Although we won’t directly compare these physical spaces, we want to rescue the nostalgia of the space and the recognition of its main characters.

In this project, we would like to interview dairy owners in the area and get to know their stories. In return, we would like to offer a commemorative plaque designed by us from their personal narrative. The plaque will be made from ceramic, intervened with carving ( this will allow us to share our practice mediums). We believe it is important to commemorate the resilience and perseverance of their journeys, as it is essential to celebrate the diversity Aotearoa has to offer.

After the plaques have been fired, and we have the final pieces, we propose having an exhibition where more details are available to the public. We believe it is important this exhibition is about them and their stories, an occasion to honour all the past decisions and appreciate the present placement. After the exhibition, ideally, the plaques would be installed outside their dairies if the participants agree to – so the project stays visible to the general public.

About

SUR Collective is a Latin American Women Artist Collective. Formed in 2021, Sur-Collective is a group of 6 Latina artists whose work covers a range of disciplines including, photography, sculpture and textile art. The collective arose from the need to create a sense of place and redefine the space that we use as migrant women in Aotearoa, New Zealand.With more than ten years experience in our respective fields, our work is the reflection of our roots.