#106A ArtsNational Gold Coast Lecture - Sat 12 July 2025
Location
The Lakeside Room, HOTA
About
#106A ARTSNATIONAL Gold Coast
July 2025 Lecture and Morning Tea
'Mesoamerica - Aztec:
Tenochtitlan, the Floating Venice of the Americas'
Tenochtitlan, founded in 1325 CE on an island near the western shore of Lake Texcoco in central Mexico, was the Aztec civilisation's capital and religious centre. With over 200,000 residents, Tenochtitlan was the largest city in the Americas with a grid of canals carrying freshwater to palaces, temples, and houses and had four huge marketplaces where food and luxury goods were traded. Tenochtitlan was destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortés in 1521CE. Spanish chroniclers of the 16th century recorded in detail the buildings and works of art that once made Tenochtitlan the greatest city in Mesoamerica.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, multilingual Maria Chester studied Fine Arts and Art History and is a Professor of Pre-Columbian Art. She taught in several South American universities and at private institutions. She is a Senior Lecturer and tutor on Art History for BEA - Berwick Educational Association in the Scottish Borders, where she lives. She also works for Berwick Visual Arts delivering conferences linked to art exhibitions complemented with guided tours. In May 2018, she was made a Visiting Research Fellow at CAUA Research Centre for International Elderly Education, Shanghai, China. She became an Accredited Lecturer for The Arts Society in 2018.
Our Speaker from The Arts Society (UK) is Maria Chester.
