Claire Breukel named Chief Curator at MARTE Contemporary in San Salvador

MARTE Contemporary/ MARTE Contemporáneo is the contemporary art program of the Art Museum of El Salvador (MARTE). Established in 2004, MARTE Contemporary began providing a platform for artists to experiment and interact with fellow creative minds. Since then, MARTE Contemporary has established a permanent program hosting three annual exhibitions featuring internationally and locally recognized artists, ongoing lecture series, cultural exchanges as well as artist portfolio reviews by select invited professionals. MARTE Contemporary is championed by its’ board of directors, program advisory group and two executive staff members.

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In 2011, invited by Cader-Frech, Breukel curated an exhibition at MARTE Museum. She states: “I admire the museum, have great respect for its staff and am fascinated by the ambitious and daring creative community in El Salvador. Now, being part of MARTE Contemporary, a program already in its 10th year, is a significant opportunity to increase cross cultural dialogue and expand the conversation to a network of El Salvadoran arts professionals living around the world--RETNA, our March 2014 exhibition is a great example. It is also an opportunity to introduce artists, curators, critics and collectors who participate in the program to the creative processes within the country, and to the community"

Breukel, art writer for Arte al Dia International, is the former Director of Locust Projects in Miami, has curated exhibitions internationally, and has worked as the curator for Sports lifestyle company PUMA where she implemented arts partnership throughout Africa and the Caribbean. This past November, she coordinated the (RED) Auction at Sotheby’s that raised over 26.2 million in the fight against Aids through the sale of design objects designed by Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson. Breukelexplaisn her ambition for MARTE Contemporary, Marte-C “My goal is to expand MARTE Contemporary’s exhibition program through international partnerships, fundraising and critical dialogue with like-minded explorative spaces”. Breukel is currently working on a publication about Contemporary Salvadoran art, and is based in New York and Miami.

To work with Breukel on these goals is Salvadoran arts professional Lucas Arévalo who takes the position of Program Manager. With a strong background in marketing, knowledge of Central American corporations as well as experience in exhibition coordination, Arévalo brings to MARTE Contemporary these important skillsets.

MARTE Museum Director, Roberto Galicia, is excited about this expansion: “MARTE Museum’s support of contemporary exhibitions in El Salvador over the past ten years has become vital to artists living in El Salvador as well as the community. We are very thrilled that Claire Breukel and Lucas Arévalo are joining the team.”