Introducing Ulises Matamoros Ascención, visual artist, educator, and independent curator from Mexico, and the first ER-Resident in Colombia at Plataforma Caníbal!
Born in Puebla, Mexico (1984), Ulises is a community-based, multidisciplinary artist whose practice conceives art as the creation of spaces of resistance, protection, and enunciative autonomy.
Rooted in his Ngiba Indigenous origin and worldview, his work spans community arts, research, and collective forms of writing and testimony, challenging hegemonic and imperial narratives.
Due to his cultural and political work, Ulises has faced threats linked to local political violence. Through his practice, he continues to affirm art as a tool for resilience, Indigenous sovereignty, and collective self-determination.
In 2019, together with members of his community, he co-founded Chasen Thajni, a collective space dedicated to the preservation and activation of Indigenous language, memory, and shared histories.
Ulises has received numerous recognitions and grants, including the Gwaertler Stiftung Prize 2025, fellowships and production grants from UNAM–MUAC–SOMA, Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo, FONCA, and PECDA.
Plataforma Caníbal is a Barranquilla-based residency and laboratory that uses community-based practices to critically engage with the landscape and historical memory of the Colombian Caribbean, offering a creative sanctuary for regional artists. We warmly welcome Plataforma Caníbal as they join the AR-Network! Here, Ulises is developing a project within the Laboratory of Imaginative Translation, working with local artists and community members in Barrio Abajo, Barranquilla, with a focus on collective archiving and situated knowledge.
We warmly wish Ulises a safe, meaningful, and productive stay and thank Plataforma Canibal and the Nordic Culture Fund Globus programme for making this possible!
