The second edition of ARTBO Fin de Semana rolls into Bogotá this weekend, starting May 18 until May 20. This highly anticipated art event will present some 70 cultural activities, workshops and talks that will take place in three different areas of the city: Chapinero, San Felipe and Macarena/Centro. During three days, attendees will have the opportunity to visit 57 different art exhibitions in galleries, independent venues and museums.
Besides free exhibitions, ARTBO Fin de Semana also counts with three special programs: a Forum, Editorial Encounter (Encuentro Editorial) and Intervention – A City Project.
The Bogotá Chamber of Commerce (CCB) in its Chapinero hub will host the forum “On the edge of limitations: Cultural innovations transgressing conventional structures” moderated by Ana Sokoloff, a specialist in Latin American Art. This forum also includes a series of presentations on the strategies to innovate and break down barriers in the different fields of art, beginning with a keynote talk by Karen Wong, deputy director of the New Museum in New York.
Seventeen national and international guests will participate in these talks over the weekend. Guests include Henry Allsop, director of the London art gallery Hauser & Wirth; Young Joon Kwak, experimental artist and co-founder of Mutant Salon in Los Angeles; and My Amigas Drag, a collection of Colombian drag performance artists.
Also taking place at the Cámara de Comercio is Encuentro Editorial, a program that includes 25 national and international publishers dedicated to the visual arts. Guests include Ricardo Juárez, co-founder of Libros Mutantes, a Spain-based initiative that focuses on art publications; Ana Luiza Fonseca, director of the Tijuana editorial project of the Vermelho gallery in Brazil; and, Álvaro Cifuentes, curator and editor of the artistic and publishing project Big Sur from Buenos Aires. The Encuentro Editorial will also offer creative workshops relating to publishing for families and children ages 7 to 13.
ARTBO Fin de Semana will also host two open air installations as part of Intervention – A City Project to promote the exhibition of art in historic landmarks, and stimulate an appreciation of art for larger audiences who may not otherwise visit a museum or gallery. The installation ‘Fables about chaos’ will fuse art and technology at the Los Héroes Monument from May 18 to June 2, while Babel Media Art will use a special lighting system to project works onto the Colpatria skyscraper, Thursday to Sunday, starting 6 pm.
The complete ARTBO Fin de Semana program can be downloaded at the official website www.artbo.co.
To take part in the weekend’s agenda, a quick and easy registration at www.artbo.co is required.
By registering, visitors can also make use of the free bus service that will shuttle between the three circuits of Chapinero, San Felipe and Macarena/Centro.
In an alliance with the city’s Institute of Recreation and Sports (IDRD), a free bicycle loan service will also be available in five strategic locations:
Galería La Cometa (Cra 10 No. 94A-25)
San Felipe (Diagonal 75Bis No.20-76)
Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá, Chapinero (Calle 67 No. 8–32)
MAMBO (Calle 24 No.6–00)
Espacio Odeón (Cra 5 No.12C–73).
This service is only available for those who registered online.
Visitors to the National Museum will be able to enjoy eight exhibitions with works from the art, archaeology and ethnographic collections.
ARTBO Fin de Semana coincides with the celebration of International Museum Day on May 18. To mark this occasion, the Museo Nacional has organized the digital platform “Hyperconnected museums: New approaches, new audiences,” so visitors can share on social media ideas and reflections about museums. If sharing your art-weekend photos, remember to hashtag with event with #ARTBOfds.
In partnership with the Valenzuela Klenner gallery, the National Museum will also exhibit a giant inflatable beach ball, Pelota de playa, created by the collective Si Nos Pagan Boys.
Here, a listing of some of the participating museums and galleries by district. Admission to all museums and galleries is free.
San Felipe. Grey Cube Projects, Galería Doce Cero Cero, Espacio KB, Beta Galería, Jakob Karpio Galería, Sketch, FLORA ars+natura, Más Allá, Plural Nodo Cultural, La Casita, Instituto de Visión.
Chapinero/Norte: Beatriz Esguerra Arte, Galería La Cometa,Otros 360º, El Museo, LA galería, Galería Sextante, Casas Reigner, Casa Cano, Lokkus, Casa Hoffman, Nueveochenta, Lamazone, Salón Comunal.
Macarena/Centro: Miami, Espacio ArtNexus, Espacio Odeon, NC-arte, Alonso Garcés Galería, FUGA-Fundación Gilberto Alzate Avendaño,Claustro de San Agustín, Museo de Arte de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá – MAMBO, Museo Artes Visuales, Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia (MAMU).
