Refashioning Collaborations: Crossing Borders During the Pandemic

Responding to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, when news of quarantines, shutdowns, and sheltering-in-place mandates abounded, the organizers of the tenth fashion congress of Ixel Moda in Cartagena, Colombia, decided collectively to develop the content for an unprecedented five-day, 3-dimensional virtual gathering that brought together artisans, designers, chefs, scholars, and other creators from throughout the globe. The event would provide the scenario for exchanges on many facets of Latin American culture—food, music, film, fashion, politics, museum exhibits, performance, decorative arts, sustainability, tourism, and advertising—in the midst of a difficult period. This essay explores Ixel Online 2020 as a showcasing of the creative arts, includes the voices of the cultural organizers, and proposes this event as a model for increased international dialog during a global crisis. Como respuesta a la pandemia de COVID-19 de 2020, cuando abundaron las noticias de cuarentenas, cierres y mandatos de refugiarse en casa, los organizadores del decimo congreso de Ixel Moda en Cartagena, Colombia, decidieron colectivamente desarrollar el programa de un encuentro virtual sin precedentes de cinco dias y a 3 dimensiones que reunio a artesanos, disenadores, chefs, academicos y otros creadores de todo el mundo. El evento proporcionaria el escenario para intercambios sobre muchas facetas de la cultura latinoamericana —comida, musica, cine, moda, politica, exposiciones de museos, performance, artes decorativas, turismo y publicidad— en medio de un periodo dificil. Este ensayo explora Ixel Online 2020 como una muestra de las artes creativas, incluye las voces de los organizadores culturales y propone este evento como un modelo para un mayor dialogo internacional durante una  crisis global.