HWS News
27 June 2025 Art, Culture and Identity in Argentina
From national museums to vibrant street corners, Buenos Aires became a classroom for HWS students this summer.
At the end of the spring semester, fifteen students from Hobart and William Smith travelled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a study abroad program that combined cultural immersion with critical inquiry. Led by Associate Professor of Art and Architecture and Chair of Critical Museum Studies, Angelique Szymanek, “Art, Culture, & National Identity in Buenos Aires” opened an opportunity for students to explore how various forms of cultural expression—art, architecture, music, food and more—convey both dominant and marginalized narratives about Argentine identity.
In the city where the legacy of colonization and immigration is etched into the urban landscape, students encountered a rich architectural mix — Neoclassical, Beaux-Arts, Spanish Baroque — reflecting European influence. The curriculum challenged them to consider whose histories are told through these expressions and whose are left out.
“Art isn’t just in galleries,” Szymanek says. “It’s in the streets, in the neighborhoods, in the everyday experiences of people. We want students to notice these layers — to ask themselves: Who created this? What story is it telling? And why does that matter?”
Buenos Aires
A key component of the course involved visiting the city’s most iconic museums, including El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires. These institutions house extensive collections of European and Argentine works, prompting students to consider how the contents of the museums reflect national identity and values. “There’s a noticeable emphasis on European artists in some of these national spaces,” Szymanek notes. “That raises important questions about how Argentina sees itself and wants to be seen.”
In stark contrast, students also explored Palermo, a neighborhood known for its street art, which tells stories of resistance, resilience and community. Murals reference the dictatorship of the 1970s, social justice movements and the everyday concerns of contemporary Argentine youth. This visual dialogue between formal and informal art spaces opens up complex conversations about politics, memory and voice.
“I greatly admired the protest culture in Buenos Aires,” says Haley Levine ’26. “The passion, determination and strong-mindedness the women have to continuously march every week for their lost loved ones from many years ago, upholding Memory, Truth and Justice.”
The program itinerary also included stops at cultural landmarks like Plaza de Mayo, Recoleta Cemetery and Memory Park Monument, and a visit to spaces such as the Human Rights Museum. Students also took part in a tango workshop, enjoyed a traditional asado (Argentine barbecue) and experienced life through day trips to a ranch, the craft markets of Tigre and a boat tour of the Paraná Delta.
Szymanek, uniquely suited to lead the program, lived in the city’s Recoleta neighborhood while working on her master’s thesis which was about performance art and feminist activism.
“Walking the streets, taking the train to rural areas, discovering the city on foot—it changed the way I understood art and place,” she recalls.
Beyond academic growth, Szymanek hopes the experience will challenge preconceived notions about Latin America. “Part of what makes this program so valuable is helping students see for themselves how complex, connected, and rich this part of the world truly is.”
Top: Art and Architecture students in “Art, Culture, and National Identity in Buenos Aires” pose for a picture. The course is taught by Associate Professor of Art and Architecture Angelique Szymanek.
