The artistic practice of Minerva Cuevas is characterized by socially engaged and site-specific actions that take place in a range of settings extending from public spaces to museums and the Internet. She works across a variety of media, including video, installation and communication technologies.
Cuevas examines the potential of informal and alternative economies. Her works allow the viewer an insight into the complexities of the economic and political organization of the social sphere and its structures. Furthermore, her works offer the opportunity of playfully subversive participation in these economies – such as in the Petticoat Lane Market in London, where Cuevas introduced the market’s own currency (S·COOP). In 1998 Cuevas founded Mejor Vida Corp. (Better Life Corporation), an ongoing project that distributes free products and services such as subway tickets, student cards, letters of recommendation and barcode stickers for cheaper food. Her works thus often appear as cultural experiments, where artistic practice meets political activism.