Dr Leticia Pérez-Castellanos

Dr Leticia Pérez-Castellanos started her career as an archaeologist. She became interested in museums as places where everyone – not only academics – can learn about their heritage. Leticia’s work now involves research, teaching and workshops with museum practitioners, in Spain and throughout Latin America. She is particularly interested in transforming exhibitions, museums and archaeological sites into places that connect people from different cultures.

Leticia got involved with museum exhibitions between Mexico and New Zealand in 2014, through a research partnership with Dr Lee Davidson (Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington). Leticia and Lee co-authored Cosmopolitan Ambassadors: International Exhibitions, Cultural Diplomacy and the Polycentral Museum, which won the 2020 Miguel Covarrubias prize for best research in museums.

Leticia and Lee now draw on a transnational, intercultural network of researchers in New Zealand and Mexico for specific exhibitions and projects. Through a programme called Cultural Sector Partnerships, they also organise workshops, exchanges and internships for New Zealand professionals in the cultural and creative sectors. These opportunities give New Zealanders the chance to engage with Mexican culture, and develop cultural awareness and an open mind. Leticia’s most recent collaboration with New Zealand was the exhibition De la Milpa a la Mesa: A Mexican Food Journey, which toured New Zealand between 2021 and 2023.

Leticia and Lee share information about their collaborative projects on a website called Polycentral Museum. In December 2022, they presented at the Association of Critical Heritage Studies conference in Santiago, Chile. The conference theme was interculturalities, and Lee spoke about putting intercultural theory into practice to create polycentral and cosmopolitan international exhibitions.

Published 02 November 2023

Location 

Mexico City, Mexico

Further reading

Foro Estudios de Públicos. Leticia Pérez-Castellanos.

Lee Davidson & Leticia Pérez-Castellanos. 2022. Reimagining Exhibition Exchange as Remote Intercultural Exhibition Development. De la Milpa a la Mesa. A Mexican Food Journey. Teo Exhibitions.

Lee Davidson & Leticia Pérez-Castellanos. 2022. How to Develop and Evaluate an Exhibition that Promotes Intercultural Understanding. De la Milpa a la Mesa. A Mexican Food Journey – Part II. Teo Exhibitions.

Leticia Pérez-Castellanos, María del Carmen Castillo Cisneros, Mariana Palma Narváez & Giselle Yatsiri Varela Vázquez. 2021. México en Nueva Zelanda: Diálogos Interculturales Para la Exposición De la Milpa a la Mesa. A Mexican Food Journey. Archivo Churubusco, 5(7).