Cal State LA’s Art History Society presents the 2025 Mesoamerican Symposium on Saturday, March 22, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the University-Student Union Theatre. The full-day event is organized as a homage to acclaimed archaeologist John M. D. Pohl and art historian Manuel Aguilar-Moreno.

John M. D. Pohl is an adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology at Cal State LA. A specialist in ancient Mesoamerican art and writing systems, Pohl has directed numerous archaeological excavations and surveys in Canada, the United States, México, and Central America as well as Europe. He is the author of several books on the ancient worlds of Mesoamerica including Exploring Mesoamerica, The Aztec Warrior: 1325-1519, and The Legend of Eight Deer. His unusual background in archaeology, art history, theater, and film production have taken him from museum exhibition design and development to writing, producing, designing, and directing feature and television productions.

Manuel Aguilar-Moreno is a professor in the Department of Art at Cal State LA. An expert in the art and culture of Latin America, he conducts research in the art and history of pre-Columbian and Colonial Latin America. He has co-directed an interdisciplinary research project about “Ulama: The Survival of the Mesoamerican Ballgame” and the research project, “Walls of Passion: The Murals of Los Angeles,” that featured documentations and analysis of approximately 500 murals of the city of Los Angeles. He also has written countless articles in edited books, journals, magazines, and newspapers on the history of Mexican art as well as world art in the United States, Mexico, and Europe.

Both Pohl and Aguilar-Moreno will be presented the Tlamatini Awards honoring their invaluable contributions to the field of Mesoamerica during the 4:45 p.m. closing ceremony. The awards presentation will include Stephen Trzaskoma, dean of the university’s College of Arts and Letters, and Carlos González Gutiérrez, Consul General of Mexico.

The theme for this year’s symposium is “At the Crossroads of Civilizations: The Cultures of West Mexico Through Time.” This conference will present a spectrum of interdisciplinary research through innovations in archaeological methods and historical and ethnographic studies, revealing West Mexico’s critical role in over two millennia of Pacific coastal influence extending from the Greater American Southwest, through northern Mexico to Mesoamerica and beyond.

Speakers include Diana Magaloni Kerpel of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Mary Miller of the Getty Research Institute, Lorenza López-Mestas of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Jalisco, Mexico, Susana Ramírez-Urrea of the University of Guadalajara, Mexico, Michael Mathiowetz of the Getty Research Institute, José Luis Punzo of INAH – Mexico, Johannes Neurath of INAH – Mexico, Christian De Brer of UCLA -Fowler Museum, and Khristaan Villela of the Getty Research Institute.

As part of the symposium, the Treasures of West Mexico exhibition will be on display in the Special Collections and Archives reading room of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library at Cal State LA.

This event is free to the public and is organized by the Art History Society, the Anthropology Film Club, College of Arts and Letters, and College of Natural and Social Sciences at Cal State LA. It is made possible in part with the generous support of the Getty Research Institute and the Arvey Foundation.

Advanced ticket reservation is required. Please register online to attend the symposium at https://www.calstatela.edu/arthistorysociety. For additional information, please call Elizabeth Poz of the Art History Society at 310-302-7121.