Papelitos Recuperados: Using Visual-Curatorial Narrative to Recover My History

This article situates the curation of the art exhibit, “Two Cultures, One Family—Building Family, Finding Home” as part of the Latin American and US Latina testimonio tradition. It draws connections between transgenerational memory work and Erika Abad’s curatorial practice to frame artists’ contributions to this mixed media testimonio. It also shows how, through the process of curation, the “papelito guardado” of Abad’s grandmother’s photo, the centerpiece of the exhibit, was transformed into their “papelito recuperado,” helping Abad reclaim their family’s history and recover from intergenerational trauma.