The Telenovela Archives
Discover how serialized television fiction shaped the political, social, and cultural history of Latin America. The Telenovela Archives is an open, evolving collection that traces the rise of the telenovela and its lasting impact across the region.
On display in the FIMS & Nursing Building, first and second floors, until April 2025.
- View the exhibit map (pdf)
The Telenovela Archives: The history of TV series in Latin America 1950–1999 is an open, evolving archive that brings together visual records, knowledge, and memories of serialized television fiction. Focusing especially on the 1950s and 1960s, the project illustrates how television — and telenovelas in particular — helped shape the political, social, and cultural history of Latin America.
The Telenovela Archives travelling exhibit has been adapted for Western University and curated specifically for the FIMS & Nursing Building.
The installation invites visitors to pause in the hallways, encounter archival images and stories, and reflect on how television has shaped everyday life in Latin America and beyond through:
- The authors and creators behind iconic telenovelas
- The works they produced, from early series to long-running hits
- The conditions of production and circulation, including political and media contexts
Together, these elements help visitors trace cause-and-effect relationships and understand the “telenovela” phenomenon — the Latin American counterpart to US and British soap operas — within its broader historical context.
Location
First and second floor corridors (exhibit floor map)
FIMS & Nursing Building, Western University (campus map)
Times
Mon-Fri | 6 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sat | 6 a.m.-8 p.m.
Dates
Now through April 2025
Admission
Free
Who can visit
Open to students, faculty, staff, and community members
The Telenovela Archives exhibit is co-led by:
Juan Bello
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Information & Media Studies
Basil Chiasson
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Information & Media Studies
Research:
Prof. Constanza Burucúa, Department of Languages and Cultures
Celeste Mackenzie
Yelitza Vila
Francisco Mendina
Visual Identity and Design:
Eddymir Briceño ➔ I&B
Adriana Genel
Andreína González
Germán Herrera
Image Restoration:
Arturo Ortega
Community Engagement Coordinator:
Camila Ariza
The project is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts (Explore and Create Program), and the London Arts Council (Community Arts Investment Program) and involves collaboration with archives in the US, Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazil.
The on-campus exhibit is supported by the Faculty of Information and Media Studies. The Telenovela Archives project is funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, the London Arts Council, and Triana Media.
