ABOUT

Founded in 2016, we are an international arts and cultural organization working from a base in Oaxaca, Mexico. Through long-term, process-based programs, we engage artists, thinkers & cultural practitioners in collective learning, artistic research, and the circulation of ideas across disciplines and geographies.

We understand artistic practice not only as production, but as a way of thinking, questioning, and working together.

HOW WE WORK

Pocoapoco operates through long-term, research-driven formats that allow relationships, ideas, and practices to develop over time. Our programs are structured to support trust, sustained engagement, and experimentation rather than short-term outputs.

We work with artists and cultural practitioners as thinkers and collaborators, valuing process, dialogue, and reflection as integral to artistic practice. Learning at Pocoapoco is collective and iterative, shaped by those who participate and by the specific conditions of each moment.

While grounded in Oaxaca, our work is not about representing place. Instead, we understand place as a site of inquiry—one that informs how knowledge is produced, shared, and activated in relation to other contexts.

WHAT WE DO

Our work takes several interconnected forms:

  • Residencies: Long-term, process-based residencies that provide time, space, and context for research, experimentation, and exchange.

  • Learning Programs: Guided programs that bring together practitioners from different disciplines to explore shared questions through practice, conversation, and collective study.

  • Public Engagements: Events, workshops, and gatherings that extend ongoing work & conversations into public space and invite broader participation.

  • Research & Editorial Work: Documentation, conversations, and written reflections that support the circulation of ideas beyond the immediate context of our programs.

Rather than operating as discrete offerings, these programs & projects function as overlapping modes of inquiry that inform one another over time.

LOCATION

Pocoapoco is based in Oaxaca, Mexico, where we work in close relationship with local collaborators, contexts, and communities. Oaxaca provides a grounding for our practice — shaping how we think about time, resources, collaboration, and responsibility.

At the same time, Pocoapoco works internationally, connecting practitioners from multiple geographies. Ideas & relationships developed through our programs circulate globally through ongoing dialogues, partnerships, and exchange.

HISTORY

Pocoapoco was founded in 2016 as a response to a need for sustained, process-oriented spaces for creative exchange and learning open to participants working both in and outside of traditional artistic spaces. From its beginnings, the organization grew through close relationships with residents, collaborators, and neighbors, whose ongoing involvement shaped both the form and values of the work.

Over time, the intentional integration of local artists, cultural workers, and community members into Pocoapoco’s programs transformed the nature of exchange within the organization. What began as a site for visiting practitioners evolved into a reciprocal ecosystem, where knowledge moves in multiple directions and long-term relationships take precedence over short-term encounters.

This grounding in local participation made it possible for Pocoapoco’s work to expand internationally without losing specificity. Exchange at Pocoapoco is shaped by continuity, shared responsibility, and trust — allowing ideas developed in Oaxaca to circulate outward, while perspectives from elsewhere are meaningfully integrated into the local context.

Our history is defined less by growth in scale than by deepening relationships, returning to core questions, and allowing our methods of working together to evolve over time.

PARTNERS & NETWORKS

Pocoapoco works in relationship with artists, cultural practitioners, and institutions locally and internationally. These partnerships are built through shared values, long-term engagement, and mutual trust, and often extend beyond formal program structures.

Rather than maintaining a fixed roster of partners, we prioritize relationships that evolve organically through practice and dialogue.

Partners & collaborators have included, but are not limited to: Terreno Familiar, Tenido a Mano, Taller Tierra Que Florece, Centro de las Artes San Agustin, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo y de las Culturas Oaxaqueñas, Parsons School of Design, Instituto de Artes Grafícas Oaxaca, Julio Barrita, Espacio Pino Suarez, Taller Rio Blanco, Kingsland Printing