Global Call: VII Tzompantli Gráfico Monumental

From the bowels of the Nahual Graphic Workshop in vibrant Mexico City, where ink and mezcal have forged a unique community, we launch an unprecedented invitation to the world. In 2019, inspired by the deep tradition of the Day of the Dead, we conceived an initiative that has transcended borders: the Tzompantli Gráfica Monumental. What began as an experiment is now a collective canvas where each stroke tells a story, a tribute, a memory.

This project is a celebration of life and a bridge between worlds. It doesn’t matter if you are a master engraver with decades of experience or if you are just starting your artistic journey; in Tzompantli, each engraved skull has the same value, the same voice. There are no talent contests here, only a space of artistic brotherhood where trust and humility intertwine to create a great collective work printed on canvas, which is exhibited in the public space, reclaiming it for art and taking ground away from polluting advertising.

Today, as we prepare for the seventh edition, we celebrate almost a thousand engraved skulls that have come to life, many of them as a tribute to those who are no longer here, but whom the Mexican cosmovision promises us that one day we will meet again in the Mictlán. We invite you to join this World Call 2025 and be part of the Tzompantli Gráfico Monumental, the world’s largest manifestation that fuses pre-Hispanic history with the Mexican cosmovision.

Rules of Participation

• Work: You must create a skull using the technique of high relief engraving. The theme is free, always under the concept of the Tzompantli.
• Participants: Open to artists, students and general public from all over the world, with or without previous experience in engraving.
• Materials:

• You can use a 23×23 cm and 3 mm thick MDF plate, which will be provided by Taller Nahual after your registration.
• You can also participate with linoleum sheets of the same size (23×23 cm)

• Advice and tools: If you have no experience in printmaking, Taller Nahual will offer theoretical and practical advice, as well as lending you the necessary tools (gouges). A calendar will be published with dates and times for small groups; your punctuality is key to speed up the process!
• Participants from other Mexican States: You will have to engrave your plaque (MDF or linoleum 23×23 cm and 3 mm thick) and send it by parcel to the address that will be provided to you after your registration and payment. Taller Nahual will support you with courier and logistic options for the return of your engraved plaque and print, each participant will have to cover the shipping cost.
• Participants from other countries (Commission «Adopt an Artist from Abroad»): To break down barriers and foster a global artistic community, if you reside outside of Mexico, you can participate by sending your digitised drawing. A local artist from Mexico City will be in charge of carving your proposal into a digital drawing.
• Registration and Recovery Fee: The registration and cooperation process will be done through the online form: https://forms.gle/tEQ1aMtaDpGMkZNU7 

• The recovery fee is 35 USD. For international participants, payment will be made through PayPal.
• This fee will be used for the production of the monumental banners, materials (wood, fabric, threads, papers, inks), design equipment, communication, production, logistics, sewing, photography, video, museography and curatorship.

• Exhibition Rights: By registering and paying the fee, you grant Taller de Gráfica Nahual the NON-exclusive right to exhibit your work in in-person and virtual exhibitions, both in Mexico and internationally. This includes the management, reproduction and public communication of your piece for social networks, the website (http://www.tallernahual.com) and future exhibitions, always with the credits corresponding to your authorship.

Important Dates

• Registration Phase: 15 July to 23 August 2025.
• Engraving Material Submission Phase (MDF Plate): 15 July to 23 August 2025.
• Deadline for Overseas Artists to submit their Digitised Drawing: 17 August 2025.
• Deadline for Engraved Plaques (for local and national participants): 30 August 2025.

Your Participation Includes

• The production of 5 monumental banners with your work.
• Management and production of 5 face-to-face exhibitions.
• Management and production of 1 virtual exhibition at La Nahuala Galería.
• Production and management of the opening in person at TGN.
• 1 print of your work printed on fine paper for you.
• Theoretical and practical advice (for those who require it) and loan of tools.
• Certificate of participation.

Graphic edition and collection

From each engraved matrix, the following will be printed:

• 5 copies on canvas with sizing for the exhibition banners.
• 5 copies on paper for the project’s collection.
• 1 copy printed on fine paper for each participant.
• 2 copies for the TGN collection.
• 2 workshop prints (available for sale to support TGN’s self-management and the continuity of collaborative projects).

Your work will also be part of the digital collection for the creation of the project catalogue and future applications (posters, stickers, digital elements), always with your credits.

About the plaques

You will be able to collect your engraved plaque once the printing and exhibition phase is finished (lasting three weeks). The exact protocols, dates and times of collection will be 

published in October 2025.

We look forward to your valuable participation in this seventh edition. Any aspect not covered in this call will be resolved by the team of Taller de Gráfica Nahual.

Contact options

Adress: Mesones #20, 1er Piso, Centro Histórico, CDMX

What ́s App: +52 5548335480

E-mail: graficanahual@gmail.com 

Facebook: @tallerdegraficanahual

Instagram: @tallerdegraficanahual

TikTok: @tallerdegraficanahual