Chapter 11: Nepantlando: Visual Teaching Through Curadora Methodologies

Nepantlando = nepantla (existing in-between worlds) + Spanish gerund (ando). We define nepantlando as an activated liminal space where within the gap, la rajadura, one chooses to straddle the in-between. As nepantleras we create, envision, summon, and embody new possibilities through intentional visual and performative acts that transform us. Through Anzaldúa’s coined terminology and theoretical lens of nepantlera, one is a “visionary cultural worker” (Anzaldúa & Keating, 2015). In this chapter, we outline and enact a methodology, art practice, and curriculum called nepantlando, an active process of healing and transformation through studio art practice and curating. To situate nepantlando, we traverse: autohistoria-teoría, curadora, and Latinx art practices. We reenvision art curricula from a borderlands perspective. Using Anzaldúa’s Borderland theory, a psychic or spiritual crossing of borders, we map emotional, psychological, nostalgic, and memory realms as spaces of nepantla. We discuss two examples of nepantlando: creating space through creative acts and museo me vale. As a final reflection, we present a visual performance of nepantlando.