Future History

My name is Thien Doan. I am Senior at Wichita State University studying Photography Sunday, September 28th. I met an artist named Ricky Allman from Kansas City and Carlos Huffmann from Argentina who are participating in the 1st Biennial of Asuncion, they were installing their work in an abandoned hotel with the help from Jorge.

Artist - Ricky Allman

Working future into a historical space.

Artist - Carlos Huffmann

The work of Carlos hung by the old fire place.

Venue Operator to the Asuncion Biennial

Artists in the Streets

Hello. My name is Dale Small. I am Junior at Wichita State University studying Photography and Art History. 


On Saturday, October 27, I had amazing experience working with Street Artists from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay. These artists are participating in the 1st Biennial of Asuncion. They will be creating murals for the Biennial but mainly for the city of Asuncion.

My day was spent traveling with my fellow students Manuel, MiKayla, and Mariah to document Street Artists Bruno (Smoky), his sister Bianca and their friend Skull. 

Powerline Graffiti Shop, the only one of its kind in the entire country of Paraguay.

Bruno AKA Smoky, Artist from Sa o Paulo, Brazil.

Paint for days. 

On our way to the Port of Asuncion. Artist by the street name of Skull is ready to paint.

Inside the small boat that took us across the Rio Paraguay.

Smoky setting up for a small mural.

Artist Bianca sets up for her piece as well. At times the process of a street artist can be unconventional. 

Artist - Bianca.

Artist - Skull.

Smoky's finished mural. La Muerte. 

Smoky, Bianca, and Skull. New territory laid.

Smoky with local children. 

We are still young in our journeys in Paraguay, but if I could leave only with this I would take. The culture of street art and graffiti has always been something I wanted to explore and understand on a deeper level. Working with these artists and being able to understand their process opened my eyes to their cultures and the culture of street art. They make more than graffiti. They are making art.

We should hope to see more from them soon.

Kiln building in Itagua

 Hello! I am Mariah Drussel. I am a second year photography student and today I have the privilege of posting in the blog! We traveled to a city outside of Asuncion, where we met up with the ceramic students. They have been building a kiln in the backyard of a local artist, Julia Isidrez. Her beautiful artwork will be featured in the biennial, so it has been a privilege for the students to be working out of her home. 

 Mikayla is overwhelmed to be experiencing her first pollo milanesa sandwich! This wonderful creation consists of an oversized slab of chicken, ham, mozzarella cheese, tomato, lettuce, and a bun. The milanesa definitely hits the top list of our favorite Paraguayan foods!

Manuel LOVES his terere. The jug contains ice water and fresh herbs. The cup that he is holding is filled with different flavors of herbs and spices. Anytime that he is thirsty, he simply pours himself a cup of refreshing and flavorful water!

Proletariat Portraits

Here's a quick preview of some pictures we made today of WSU ceramics students, led by Prof. Ted Adler, who were putting the final touches on a kiln built for a local artist, Julia Isidrez. We'll post a more thorough update tomorrow, but for now I'm too excited about these to go to sleep without putting them up. In celebration of manual labor. -Jennifer

We've arrived!

After 24 hours of travel, we (but not our luggage) finally arrived in Asunción. We're primarily here to document the exhibitions, events, and people involved in the 1st Asunción Biennial, and we'll be posting updates with photos about our travels. Every day (or at least most days), one student will take over the blog to post their observations and photos. Today, it is their professor, Jennifer Ray. Tomorrow, we'll hopefully go to see and photograph the kiln that WSU ceramics students have been building for an artist in the surrounding countryside. 

Phone pillow

Sào Paulo light 

Manuel and his wonderful family, who helped us get around the Asunción