Cara Romero makes Mexico debut, wins Palm Foundation grant

Cara Romero (Chemehuevi Indian Tribe) makes her Mexico debut February 8–12 at ZONAMACO, Latin America’s largest art fair. In its second Mexico City–based fair, Bockley Gallery will present Romero’s series Indigenous Futurism at booth F13, while her series The Everywhen Collection will be on view at both the Palm Foundation booth and on Obilum.art in celebration of Romero being named the inaugural Palm Foundation Program grantee.  

In a photographic practice that blends documentary and commercial aesthetics, Romero creates stories that draw from intertribal knowledge to expose the fissures and fusions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural memory, collective history, and futurity.

“For the first time, I am working in the genre of Indigenous Futurism—art that imagines an unlimited future while we resist being relegated to the past,” Romero says, reflecting on her Indigenous Futurism series at Bockley Gallery’s ZONAMACO booth. “These works come from a personal place of regenerative thoughts and active resilience. As we (Natives) continue to heal from past and ongoing traumas, we move from surviving to thriving. We are now in a creative space to imagine our futures while remembering all of our gifts granted by the sacrifices of those that came before us. We address themes like the futurity of precious Native life ways, our climate and Mother Earth, bringing balance and women’s leadership, and speculative fantasy with what feels like hope. This work has been a gift to my personal process, one that inspires us to think about the deep importance of visioning healthy futures for Native people through art and dialogue. As Natives we are often stereotyped as static and of the past, when not only are our cultures thriving as reflected in contemporary Native Art, but Native innovations and arts are shaping positive futures for all people.”

As the recipient of the inaugural Palm Foundation Program grant, Romero’s series The Everywhen Collection will be minted by Palm Foundation partner Obilum. Presented as a solo exhibition of photographic prints and digital video files at Palm Foundation’s ZONAMACO booth, the NFT will drop during the fair and be available for purchase via Obilum.art.

The Palm Foundation is an independent organization established to empower and elevate historically marginalized creative communities in web3 by endowing critical education, providing opportunity, and amplifying the work of diverse artists and developers on the Palm network. The Palm Foundation Program grant aims to create a bridge between digital art and IRL (in real life) experiences by partnering with museums and physical galleries around the world to showcase diversity of on-chain art.