2/18/2025
Dear campus community,
I am pleased to announce that Chantal Peñalosa Fong has been selected for the second annual International Artist-in-Residence Program in Spring 2025. The program is sponsored by an innovative collaboration between the Latina/o Studies Program and the Department of Art & Art History. Additional co-sponsorship from the Catherine Gould Chism Fund for the Humanities, the James Dolliver National Endowment for the Humanities Distinguished Teaching Professorship of Professors Ariela Tubert and Justin Tiehen, the Asian Studies Program in collaboration with the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation, and the Hispanic Studies Department have made this artistic and intellectual cross-disciplinary residency possible. Chantal Peñalosa Fong’s residency, running from March 9 to 29, 2025, promises to be a uniquely illuminative experience for our campus.
Peñalosa Fong’s research based practice stems from small gestures and interventions in everyday life, meant to expound upon notions of labor, waiting and delay. Repetition is a crucial element in her process, functioning as an allusion to the absurdity, weathering, and alienating effects of work. Her recent artistic work explores her Chinese Mexican identity through a historical critique of the anti-Asian politics in early 20th century Mexico. For her residency at University of Puget Sound, Peñalosa Fong plans to develop an exhibition that connects the archival and biographical histories of Chinese migrants with the anti-Asian policies implemented during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in both Mexico and the United States. Her work aims to construct a transnational history of Chinese migration to the West Coast from her hometown in Tecate, Baja California, to Tacoma, Washington.
Chantal Peñalosa Fong studied fine arts at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and the University of São Paulo. She was awarded the acquisition prize in the XIV Bienal de Artes Visuales del Noroeste and was awarded FONCA fellowships in the Young Artists category (2013-2014 and 2015-2016). She quickly followed these achievements with a residency in Japan, a visiting lecture series at University of Chicago, and last year had four individual exhibitions in Mexico and Chile, winning the first Gorrita Azul Award for Best Solo Exhibition in an Established Gallery. She joins us directly from the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program in Studio Art this year.
Highlights of Chantal Peñalosa Fong’s residency include:
- Spring Exhibition at Kittredge Gallery: Opening March 28, this showcase will offer a unique opportunity to engage with Peñalosa Fong’s artwork firsthand.
- Creative Collaboration: She will engage directly with students and faculty through open studio hours and workshops, including a workshop on AI and art, providing valuable insight into her process and the current realities of creating in the age of artificial intelligence.
- Community Engagement: Peñalosa Fong will extend her reach beyond the university, collaborating with Tacoma Art Museum on March 13 and the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation at Tacoma Public Library Main Branch on March 22.
We are honored to welcome Chantal Peñalosa Fong to campus, and look forward to seeing you at one of the many events related to this exciting partnership.
Thank you,
Andrew Kerkhoff | Provost