A six-week pop-up art school dedicated to the study of death, offering performances and workshops designed for diverse social groups.
In this temporary school, we explore how we live ENDINGS AND FAREWELLS through the lived experiences of each person: the loss of a job, a home, an identity, a friendship, or a loved one.
Through gentle and imaginative artistic activities, we accompany one another in exploring:
How do we “make” death?
How do we carry loss and grief?
What do we do before endings, and what happens after them?
How can looking at death teach us to live better?
We reflect on the necessary transformations that sustain the continuity of life, open the door to new beginnings, and make possible a good death.
Adolescents, people with limited mobility, older adults, and anyone interested in the topic—whether personally or professionally—are welcome. No prior experience in art is required. This space is also open to those who wish to learn about and experience artistic-pedagogical methodologies.
We invite you to become part of a sensitive, collective culture in the face of FINITUDE.
La Cátedra Mortal is a transdisciplinary project that brings together specialists in somatic practices, immersive art, psychology, and thanatology. Its aim is to create and share tools to question and reinvent everyday practices related to finitude, memory, permanence, continuity, grief, legacy, and the processes of dying.
These artistic-pedagogical experiences address a gap in our educational systems—both institutional and familial—where fear often prevents us from speaking about death. They offer an integral approach to the topic and open a space for dialogue, fostering awareness and shared responsibility around the processes necessary for a good death.
Cátedra Mortal is the culmination of the research project Invisible Bonds, 2021–2024 by Mexican artist Cristina Maldonado, developed across France, Spain, Mexico, and the Czech Republic.
Through this work, Maldonado weaves together local forms of knowledge and creates immersive experiences that invite us to reconnect with our own mortality, with the natural cycles of which we are a part, and to cultivate accompaniment with both our living and our dead.
Workshops and performances:
- Juego Infinito [performance]
- Cuerpa Intervenida [somatic research laboratory – body loss by surgery]
- Con Cuerpo y Alma [workshop for people over 60 – invisible losses that affect the quality of life]
- Las eRRes de la PéRdida [workshop to explore rituals of farewell, welcoming and gratitude]
- El Último Regalo [therapeutic workshop -thanatology and video art to reinvent mourning process]
- Graduation [exhibition, screening, gathering]
Period: October - December 2025
Version: Spanish
Performed in: Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Museo de la Ciudad, Casa del Faldón, Morada Cultural, Akasha Comunidad. Querétaro, México.
Support of:Convocatoria Nacional de Danza 2025 Premios Saberes Danzados, es una iniciativa de la Secretaría de Cultura Federal a través del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes.Este proyecto es apoyado por el programa RiSoma de Creación y Pedagogías en Danza de la Coordinación Nacional de Danza del INBAL.
Medium: pop up school, performance, performative writing, workshops, lecture, installation, art book
Concept, direction, and performer: Cristina Maldonado.
Assistant director and performer: Marian Mancilla.
Executive production and administration: GALA Global Arts & Leadership Alliances.
Local production and marketing strategies: Melissa Maldonado.
Technical direction: Jorge Pitol.
Transdisciplinary collaborations:
Psychologist and thanatologist: Dr. Sofía Ortiz.
Universal Accessibility specialist: Mtra. Martha Laura Barrera Rico.
Economist, interpreter, and somatic techniques pedagogue: Mtra. Blanca Garza.
Alternative therapy and content for older adults: Mrs. Alma Martha Romero de la Peña.
Restorative yoga: Mtra. Diana Cruz.
Visual concept and design: Marine Frugès.
Graphic design of art books: Isa Juchniewicz
Printing: Cráter Invertido.
Photography: Diana Cruz.
Video: Carlos Macías.
Keywords: death, finitude, mourning, aging, loss, ritual, meaning, performative writing, process, community
Program:
What Cristina Does 