Roberto Sifuentes papers
name: label: Creator
content: Sifuentes, Roberto, 1967-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art teachers -- Illinois -- Chicago
label: Occupation
content: Performance artists--Illinois--Chicago
label: Topic
content: Hispanic American artists
label: Topic
content: Latino and Latin American artists
label: Topic
content: Chicano artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Roberto Sifuentes papers were donated by Roberto Sifuentes to the Archives of American Art in 2018.
creator: label: Creator
content: Sifuentes, Roberto, 1967-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Roberto Sifuentes papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of performance artist and educator Roberto Sifuentes measure 4.3 linear feet and date from circa 1988 to 2006. The collection documents Sifuentes' work as a professional artist and educator through biographical material and interviews; correspondence including emails; project files including project descriptions, documentation of individual productions, audio and video recordings, and components of works for multimedia projects; conference files documenting symposia and conference participation; articles, versions of performance scripts, and other writings; printed material including press clippings, promotional press packets, and source material; as well as photographic material documenting performances and social events.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Roberto Sifuentes, (born Los Angeles, 1967) is a Chicano performance artist and arts instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He completed his BA from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1989 and in 1993 founded La Pocha Nostra Performance Group with his career-long collaborator, Guillermo Gómez-Peña. La Pocha Nostra in its manifesto describes itself as a "trans-disciplinary arts organization...created out of our necessity to survive as Chicano artists in a racist Art World." Around 1992  Roberto began contributing as a collaborator and performer for performance works created by Gómez-Peña in collaboration with Coco Fusco, Couple in the Cage and New World (B)order. Sifuentes has continued his partnership with Gómez-Peña in creating new performance works and publications, as well touring widely to perform their works and deliver outreach programs including lectures and workshops. 

Consistent with his work with La Pocha Nostra, Sifuentes has taken an activist sensibility and approach in incorporating stereotypical ritualistic and religious cultural imagery in his installations and performances, while engaging with emerging technologies. This juxtaposition between the futuristic and the traditional stereotype was reflected in his widely applied artistic persona Cybervato. Key works incorporating this persona include Borderscape 2000,  Temple of Confessions, and Mexterminator. He has performed his works and contributed to symposia and conferences throughout the world at venues including National Review of Live Art, Glasgow; Center for Performance Research, Wales; Hemispheric Institute, New York University; Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC; De Young Museum, San Francisco; and  El Museo del Barrio in New York City.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4.3 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 0.054 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1988-2006
label: Date
content: bulk 1993-2000
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.sifurobe
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Video recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged in 7 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1990-2000 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, 0.003 Gigabytes; ER01)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1990-2000 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, 0.004 Gigabytes; ER02-ER05)

Series 3: Project Files, circa 1986-2000 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, 0.051 Gigabytes; ER06-ER15, ER18-ER19)

Series 4: Conference Files, circa 1995-2006 (0.2 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 5: Writings, circa 1993-2000 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, 0.002 Gigabytes, ER16-ER17)

Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1993-2000 (0.9 linear feet; Boxes 4-5)

Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1990s (0.1 linear feet; Box 4)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Ryan Evans in 2018. Additional finding aid description of the sound recordings was completed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2024.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of performance artist and educator Roberto Sifuentes measure 4.3 linear feet and date from circa 1988 to 2006. The collection documents Sifuentes' work as a professional artist and educator through biographical material and interviews; correspondence including emails; project files including project descriptions, documentation of individual productions, audio and video recordings, and components of works for multimedia projects; conference files documenting symposia and conference participation; articles, versions of performance scripts, and other writings; printed material including press clippings, promotional press packets, and source material; as well as photographic material documenting performances and social events.