Indigenous Futures: A Conversation with Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil

  Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil is a member of COLMIX, a collective of young Mixe people who carry out research and dissemination activities on Mixe language, history and culture. She studied Hispanic Language and Literature and completed a Master’s degree in Linguistics at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City.
Gil has collaborated on various projects focused on the dissemination of linguistic diversity, the development of grammatical content for educational materials in indigenous languages, as well as on documentation projects and efforts to spotlight languages at risk of disappearing. Gil has helped to develop written material in Mixe and in the creation of readers in Mixe and other indigenous languages. She actively defends the linguistic rights of indigenous language speakers, the use of indigenous languages in the virtual world and in literary translation. She has also been involved in processes in defense of the environment.

     Manship Artists Residency gratefully acknowledges our partner Twenty Summers for introducing us to Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil. Twenty Summers, an incubator for art and ideas focused on social justice, selected Gil, who was singled out by ArtReview as one of the 100 most influential artists in 2021, for their 2022 season. Manship and Twenty Summers are part of an artist residency cohort.