Larisa Zmud
Conference Report. December 2024
I am writing this report from Buenos Aires, where temperatures are surpassing those of any summer on record, entire neighborhoods—both in the city and across the country—are experiencing power outages, wildfires are spreading, and a quiet but growing sense of dread settles in with each passing day. Listening to the increasingly radical stances of Argentina’s president and his circle—on gender, culture, violence, repression, and the erasure of memory and history—only amplifies that fear.
I think back to those days in Los Angeles, to the brief moments on the buses or during breakfast, when I had the chance to speak with colleagues about the different crises we were each facing. The difficulty of answering the question "What is truth?" when we can no longer trust anything beyond the words of our friends. And that is why these encounters matter—why it is essential to meet, to know one another, and to stay connected.
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been selected as a Travel Grant recipient for CIMAM. This experience allowed me not only to participate in thought-provoking discussions but also to connect with colleagues from diverse contexts, each bringing their own situated perspectives. The chance to engage in these exchanges, especially coming from a region where access to such spaces is far from guaranteed, was invaluable.
However, this opportunity also highlighted a stark imbalance. Hegemonic centers receive quotas and assistance, while the so-called Global South—yet another way of erasing the diversity of territories, landscapes, languages, economies, traditions, ecologies, and climates that, I swear, do not fit into a single category—does not receive the same support. This results in a homogenized view that overlooks the differences between the countries that make up the South and their situated realities. Instead of recognizing the particularities and challenges of each context, a unified mass is created that obscures the diverse local realities.
Furthermore, this imbalance is evident in the availability of financial support. While there is massive backing for travel grants from central and northern countries, there are no specific resources for the Global South. This forces us to compete with profiles from the central countries. I was the only Argentine participant, even though the same CIMAM event was held in Argentina last year.
It's also important to consider the ongoing attacks on cultural work in Argentina and raise awareness about what's happening. These spaces are crucial as cultural refuges, so we need to think about how to ensure their continuity.
To address a topic, it is essential not to limit the discussion to those people or institutions that "are already doing this." Instead, to truly problematize the issue, we must embrace diversity, which could involve considering the lack of resources, time, and the impossibility of thinking through the issue from certain perspectives. In this sense, the concept of sustainability is not merely about changing irrigation systems; it is about utilizing existing systems with recycled water, such as from toilets. The most sustainable approach, in fact, might be to refrain from constructing or doing anything at all—intervening only minimally with what is available and working with what we have.
Relying solely on the input of representatives from large institutions, major cities, or organizations with vast resources does not diversify the conversation. This approach often tends to be celebratory and overly optimistic, assuming that we are all on the same page, without considering the stark differences in our realities.
This brings us to the critical question: What does sustainability really mean? And, more importantly, who gets to speak on this issue? Is it only those who have the luxury of a "green team" or access to abundant resources? These are questions that challenge us to rethink not only the concept of sustainability itself but also the structures and inequalities that shape the conversations around it.
At the same time, there's a crucial distinction between expressing concern and actually taking meaningful action. For many of us in the Global South, there is no time to simply reflect or strategize. We are in a situation where survival is the priority, and immediate action is necessary for our very existence. For us, the "end of the world" that is so often feared in the Global North has already happened, again and again, in our world. The crisis, the collapse, the end—it's something we've lived through many times. There's no time left for contemplation; the "end" is already part of our lived experience.
This is one of the reasons why conversations outside the formal conference schedule were so meaningful. Beyond the structured discussions, those brief moments of exchange allowed us to deepen our reflections—not only on the specific topics discussed at CIMAM but also on our own situated positions. These encounters reinforced the importance of recognizing the plurality within what is often homogenized as the "Global South." Our realities are not a single, unified experience but a constellation of differences that cannot be reduced to a single narrative.
Additionally, the presentations by artists throughout the conference were more than just moments of inspiration—they were essential spaces of reflection, offering poetic and metaphorical perspectives that disrupted any sense of certainty. These moments reminded us that we do not have all the answers, nor should we. They encouraged us to embrace doubt, curiosity, and, above all, the imperative to listen to one another, to ask questions, and to care for each other. In times like these, where urgency often pushes us towards quick solutions, the ability to remain open, to acknowledge uncertainty, and to foster genuine dialogue is not just valuable—it is necessary.
It is for all these reasons that I believe it is essential for these spaces to continue to exist—spaces where we can meet, and, together, try to turn them into places of listening, of exchange, of conversations rather than conferences, of interactions and, why not, of dreams. Dreams of the worlds we want to live in—and for which so much of what we do is already a form of striving.
Biography
Larisa Zmud (b. 1985) is a curator and critical thinker from Argentina, focusing on gender equality and social justice through food. She holds a BA in Art Curating from the National University of the Arts (2018), and a master’s in politics and Gender Studies at Tres de Febrero University (2022).
From 2011-2018, she ran her own gallery: SlyZmud, where more than 40 exhibitions of young contemporary Argentine artists – like Mercedes Azpilicueta, Jill Mulleady, Jimena Croceri, among others – took place. From 2014-2018, she was board and founder member of MERIDIANO, Argentine Chamber of Contemporary Art Galleries.
During 2017, Zmud created Sin Destino Aparente: reading and critical thinking groups with gender perspective. Since then, through groups – focused on academic, art and activism – Zmud organizes curatorial research projects and weekly group sessions.
Between 2020-2021, she was part of the National Directorate of Cultural Policies for Equality of the Argentinean Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversities.
Larisa is part of the artistic and feminist collective Belleza y Felicidad Fiorito where she conducts cooking classes and coordinates the Comedor Gourmet, an artistic and gastronomic space designed to redefine nutrition as nourishment, a way of thinking about politics of bodies and desire. It's not just about cooking delicious food in a villa in Province of Buenos Aires, but enabling possibilities of choice to, through them, create pleasant spaces that promote the right to decide.
Larisa currently coordinates and curates the Mapa Contemporáneo de Arte Argentino en Construcción, created within the framework of the 55th CIMAM 2023 Annual Conference. She was resident of the 2024 program of KADIST Collection in Paris, which started a project dialogue with Belleza y Felicidad Fiorito.
Through exhibitions, public lectures, curatorial projects, and creation of networks between agents of international art world, she tries to create new methodologies of access to knowledge.
Larisa Zmud, Independent Curator, Member of Belleza y Felicidad Fiorito, and Director of Sin Destino Aparente, Buenos Aires, Argentina, has been awarded by the Getty Foundation, Los Angeles.