The Department of Art and Art History and the Visual Arts Center at The University of Texas at Austin are pleased to announce Pablo Tut as the 2024 recipient of the St. Elmo Arts Residency and Fellowship. Tut will be in residence during the 2024-25 academic year, culminating in the residency’s annual solo exhibition at the Visual Arts Center.
The St. Elmo Arts Residency launched in fall 2018, offering one fellowship each academic year to a newly minted MFA artist in painting, drawing, print, photo, sculpture or multimedia. The residency supports emerging artists and the creation of new work by providing a dedicated studio and living space in South Austin in addition to a $30,000 stipend. Each fellow engages with the UT Austin community through classes and lectures at UT Austin and at the Visual Arts Center.
Born of Mayan ancestry in the Peninsula of Yucatán on September 13, 1992, Tut works as an artist, educator, independent curator, and cultural manager in the field of contemporary art in México and the United States. Tut received an MFA in Art Practice from Stanford University this past spring.
Tut's art practice includes the experimentation of different media, the use of public space, and national and religious themes to expand working-class and Indigenous agency. His artwork functions as deviations, distortions, and reimaginations that resist assimilation into white colonial culture and values.
During the residency, Tut will engage with the history of Yucatecan and Mayan soldiers during the war between Mexico and Texas, generating a project that reflects on the contradictions and lived experiences of these people in the middle of two colonial projects: The Texan state and the Mexican republic.
"The space and resources of this residency will allow me to engage with the history of this state and the Peninsula of Yucatan at the same time," says Tut. "I'm hoping to critically contribute to the discussion of national identities through an art project that brings history as a dynamic narrative to our contemporary time."
About the Department of Art and Art History
The Department of Art and Art History at The University of Texas at Austin includes the divisions of Art Education, Art History and Studio Art. It reflects the rigorous standards of a flagship institution, while offering an intimate environment for students to train as scholars, artists and educators in the arts.
About the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin
The College of Fine Arts educates artists, scholars and future arts educators in a context that emphasizes artistic excellence, advanced technology, cultural diversity and best professional practices. The college places a high priority on research and the creation of new work through its many divisions and departments, including among others, the Butler School of Music, the Department of Art and Art History, the Department of Theatre and Dance, the School of Design and Creative Technologies, Texas Performing Arts, the university’s arts presenting organization, and Landmarks, the university’s public art program. A comprehensive visual and performing arts college, degree concentrations from the B.A. to Ph.D. are offered in classical music and composition to acting, dance and scenic design to studio art and arts education, as well as the scholarly study of the arts in a broad range of disciplines.