Mapping The World & Americas: Contemporary Air Routes from the Steven Keats Collection

Mapping The World & Americas: Contemporary Air Routes from the Steven Keats Collection
Constance and Linton Grinter Gallery, University Galleries, The University of Florida

October 25 – November 8, 2024

While many of us can hardly fathom having to navigate to and arrive successfully at a destination with a physical map in 2024, this exhibition seeks to emphasize the central role that Latin America played in the creation of airline advertisements from companies based in the United States and Europe. Steven Keats has been a collector of stamps, memorabilia, maps, and travel posters since his first job in international shipping after graduating from University of Florida (UF). Furthermore, he is the 2023 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the UF Center of Latin American Studies. Since graduating, he has served as a leader, mentor, and ambassador for the UF community.

Maps, which are primarily tools for geographic navigation, possess symbolism and conventions reflecting the worldviews and biases that produced them. Increasing the complexity of the works on display here, these maps were meant to allure patrons to travel to the Americas through commercial airlines, rather than inform them on how to get there. Consequently, by examining these objects, we can understand how other parts of the world perceived and interacted with the Americas in the mid-twentieth century. While these maps at times portray Latin America in problematic and primitivizing ways, we know that the Latin American avant-gardes provided invaluable contributions to the development of global contemporary arts, although many of their contributions have yet to receive the critical attention that they deserve.

At UF, we are proud to be a part of an international community of scholars, activists, professionals, and students that have been connected, in one way or another, by modern technology—such as the jet plane. By embracing these perspectives and talents, we have gained access to a wealth of ideas, traditions, and knowledge that only enhances our ability to address the complex challenges of our own time here at UF and beyond. Ultimately, our participation in a global community will only create a more inclusive, dynamic, and globally informed future.

Additional information

The graduate program in Art History at the University of Florida offers a global art history program covering a breadth of content from across time and space. The program also offers a graduate certificate in curatorial studies. For more information, please visit: https://arts.ufl.edu/academics/art-and-art-history/programs/art-history/degrees-ways-to-study/

About University Galleries
The University of Florida University Galleries’ mission is to be a platform for relevant and experimental art research and a place where pressing contemporary conversations are amplified and shared with the university and expanded communities. The UG advances the School of Art + Art History’s commitment to the visual arts by offering an experimental space to bring people together around art and ideas, improving accessibility and inclusivity through direct student and community engagement; increasing the school’s visibility as a center for critical discourse around artistic research, production, and scholarship, leading with preeminent programming.

University Galleries are comprised of three art galleries. Gary R. Libby University Gallery (GRLUG) provides the greater Gainesville community with a contemporary venue that explores new directions in visual art, incorporating historical perspectives. Exhibitions feature nationally and internationally known artists, studio art faculty, and MFA graduating thesis projects. The Gary R. Libby Focus Gallery and the Constance and Linton Grinter Gallery of International Art present art exhibitions that are organized by graduate student curators, in conjunction with the director of the galleries, allowing students to learn experientially about curation, organization, and exhibition making.

Parking Information
Daytime Parking
There are 3 reserved gallery parking spots located in the lot just east of Reid Hall. From SW 13th Street, enter campus via Museum Road, then take the first right into the Orange decal parking lot and follow the lot until it dead-ends. The gallery spots can be found on the right, facing SW 13th Street. A temporary (one-day) parking pass can be retrieved from the Gary R. Libby University Gallery. Parking restrictions for this lot are lifted at 4:30pm.
Parking permits are issued to gallery visitors in the University Gallery.

For more information, please contact the University Gallery at (352) 273-3000 or visit our website at www.arts.ufl.edu/galleries.

About the College of the Arts
The College of the Arts is one of the 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The College of the Arts offers
baccalaureate, master’s and Ph.D. degree programs in its three institutionally-accredited schools — the School of Art + Art History, School of Music and School of Theatre + Dance. The college is home to the Center for Arts in Medicine, Center for Arts and Public Policy, Center for World Arts, Digital Worlds Institute, University Galleries and the New World School of the Arts in Miami. More than 100 faculty members and approximately than 1,200 students work together daily to engage, inspire and create. The college hosts more than 300 performances, exhibitions and events each year. Faculty and students also exhibit and perform at other local, national and international venues. To learn more, visit www.arts.ufl.edu.

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Constance and Linton Grinter Gallery

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