Balam is an annual magazine based in Buenos Aires, Argentina that is mainly focused on Latin American contemporary photography, with special emphasis on queer artists and the particularities of their regional context. Originally established as an online magazine in 2015, it became a print publication from its fifth publication in early 2018 onwards. Balam has had nine issues, five of which were released in print form. Although presented as a magazine, Balam's concept is closer to that of a photobook or an art object: each issue starts with a unique theme, selected contributors and specific printing features for that particular issue. The most recent edition of the magazine, focusing on the theme of "New Masculinities", was launched in 2023.
Closer in style to publications from outside the continent, the magazine has been considered the only one of its kind in Argentina and, in general terms, Latin America as a whole. Each issue of Balam is built through an open call for photographers from all over the world to submit their work. It has showcased both emerging photographers as well as well-established names. In 2022, Balam received the Shannon Michael Cane Award given to emerging artists and publishers by the NY Art Book Fair. In 2023, the magazine produced the photobook Playfulness in collaboration with the American independent publisher Pomegranate Press, and its eighth issue was exhibited at the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (MALBA). The same year, Balam won the "Photography Content of the Year, Print or Online" prize at the Lucie Awards.
Concept
Balam is a photography magazine that is published in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was conceived in 2015 by Luis Juárez, a university student from Honduras who had emigrated to Buenos Aires in 2009, but was then living in Santiago, Chile. The creation of the project was a response to the art and photography scene of South America, characterized by limited cultural funding, "stuffy institutionalism", and the prevalence of "hetero-cis white content". Interviewed in 2021, Juárez stated that the magazine "arose in response to how photography is being fractured, unable to represent and make visible dissident and marginalised communities. (...) [I wanted to explore] realities that are outside the norm." The term "balam"—meaning "jaguar" in the languages of the Maya peoples—is a reference to the long iconographic tradition of the animal in Mesoamerica, as well as a homage to Juárez' Honduran origin, who felt the name "refers to passion".
Although presented as a magazine, the conceptual intent of Balam is closer to that of a photobook or an art object: each issue is created from scratch, with a unique theme, selected contributors and specific printing features designed for that particular issue. Since the release of its first printed issue, Balam has been presented and distributed in art galleries and independent bookstores in cities such as Buenos Aires, Santiago, London, New York City, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Melbourne, among others. In order for Balam to have its own space for dissemination outside of bookstores or museums, the magazine's team also created the Feria Migra in 2018, an art book fair devoted to independent publications and printed art that is mainly held in Buenos Aires and has been carried out several times a year since then. In addition to the magazine, Balam also organizes workshops, talks and screening cycles, in addition to creating specific content for its online platform.
Balam has been considered the only project of its kind in Argentina and, broadly speaking, in Latin America as a whole, so it mainly takes publications from outside the continent as reference points. It is focused on the contemporary photography of Latin America, with special emphasis on queer realities and the peculiarities of their regional context. Balam also explores a variety of social issues that are specially prominent in the region, including racism, violence, immigration and marginalisation, among others. The magazine presents itself with the aim of "promoting new ways of showing photography from a Latin American point of view". Writing for AnOther magazine in 2021, Dominique Sisley noted that Balam "works on two levels. On the first, it spotlights the more serious issues faced by Latin America's LGBTQ+ community, highlighting its injustices and forgotten history. At the same time, it opens up the conversation, celebrating the more mundane, everyday experiences to encourage relatability and accessibility."