FROM PARAGUAY TO THE WORLD: THE INTERNATIONAL IMPACT OF PINTA ASUNCIÓN ART WEEK
Galleries, installations, talks, collections, exhibitions, institutions, celebrations, and visits to artists’ studios. All this, and more, is brought together in the three editions—and an upcoming fourth—of Pinta Asunción, where every initiative aims to expand and connect a country’s artistic ecosystem. Under the curatorship of Irene Gelfman and Adriana Almada, the goal over the years has been to enhance the cultural industry and exercise the muscle of openness to the world.
Pinta Asunción will celebrate its fourth and final edition from September 10 to 13, but since 2022 the event has been projecting an annual calendar of activities in an Art Week format. The goal has been to position Paraguay as a crossroads for local and international artists, fostering dialogue and exchange across the region, and ensuring that national production resonates in international circuits.
What impact has it had?
The result is a network of artists who exhibit, travel, and return; curators who arrive, explore, and share; institutions that establish new connections with collectors, journalists, and organizations. A feedback loop that activates the country and projects it beyond its borders. In this framework, each edition of Pinta Asunción has been a catalyst: a spark that lit the fire.
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Pinta SUD ASU 2024
The program has promoted strategic connections, facilitated the internationalization of Paraguayan artists, galleries, and institutions, and strengthened Asunción’s visibility as a cultural destination.
Across its editions, Pinta Asunción Art Week has brought together more than 25 institutions and galleries, with over 10,000 participants in its activities. Additionally, it has convened more than thirty international experts in dialogue with local figures. Notable participants include Isabella Lenzi, Raphael Fonseca, Cuauhtémoc Medina, María Amalia García, Isabella Rjeille, Vivian Crockett, Solano Benítez, and Keyna Eleison, alongside Ticio Escobar, Lía Colombino, Félix Toranzos, and Fredi Casco.
“Visiting Paraguay has been a privilege: what Pinta is doing makes it possible to integrate Paraguay into a Latin American territory that is nominally present, but with which we don’t always have direct dialogue,” says Cuauhtémoc Medina, curator and guest of the 2024 FORUM.
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Cuauhtémoc Medina, invitado del FORO 2024
Paraguay as a hub
On one hand, Paraguayan territory has become a meeting place: international artists such as Marcelo Brodsky and Max Gómez Canle participated with exhibitions in the 2022 and 2024 editions, respectively. Nélida Mendoza, a Paraguayan-born artist based in Italy, also presented an exhibition upon returning to the country. The 2024 edition featured an exhibition by internationally-renowned Paraguayan artist Feliciano Centurión, showcasing a collection of works created throughout his life.
International artists joined a plural, local, and ambitious program. “Pinta has clearly contributed to energizing the visual arts scene, by incorporating galleries—traditionally more conservative—into the circuit of contemporary art exhibitions, which previously were more linked to other spaces such as museums or cultural centers,” says Fredi Casco, Artistic Director of Fundación Texo. Pinta Asunción brought together prominent figures from the local scene through exhibitions, tours, and meetings.
But the exchange was not only artistic: the Pompidou Museum project in Foz do Iguaçu was presented at Pinta Sud | ASU 2024, demonstrating large-scale institutional connections.
International Projection
Pinta Asunción has also served as a platform for international projection: for local artists taking their work to other fairs, and for institutions linking up with international projects.
Julia Isídrez—who has participated in all Pinta Asunción past editions—exhibited her intimate universe in New York in 2024. She also took part in the international exhibition at the 60th Venice Biennale, curated by Adriano Pedrosa.
Fernando Allen presented Confines of Paraguay at Pinta BAphoto 2024, bringing images of remote territories to the center of the Latin American photography scene. Joaquín Sánchez participated in the Video Project section at Pinta BAphoto 2023, in a search for dialogue and reflection through audiovisual language. Meanwhile, the Paraguayan gallery Viedma participated in Pinta Miami with artists Christian Ceuppens, Carolina Noguera, and Verónica Viedma.
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Fernando Allen. Confines del Paraguay, Pinta BAphoto 2024
The impact was also evident in recognitions: Adriana Almada and Félix Toranzos received honors from the French government for their careers and contributions to culture. Fidel Fernández won the 2023 AICA Award (International Association of Art Critics, Paraguay Chapter) and also exhibited at Pinta BAphoto 2023. Claudia Casarino received the 2024 edition of the award, with her exhibition presented during the opening of Pinta Asunción that year.
Stories from the Chaco region reached Europe with El cielo ishir. Cosmogonic Stories of the Paraguayan Chaco, presented in Madrid: indigenous mythology narrated in a contemporary key, projected from Asunción to the world.
Building a plan
None of this happened by chance. Pinta Asunción was part of a strategy: a plan designed to consolidate a circuit, expand artists’ reach, and foster a cultural ecosystem capable of growing internally while projecting outward.
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Pinta SUD ASU 2024
“Our intention with Pinta Asunción has always been to create a two-way flow: for international artists to come to Paraguay and engage with our scene, and for our artists to have opportunities to show their work abroad. We aim to strengthen the artistic ecosystem through regional feedback, connecting experiences and showcasing Paraguayan production in international circuits,” explains Irene Gelfman, Global Curator of Pinta.
Pinta is supported by EFG as Global Sponsor, present at all its fairs and Art Weeks, along with strategic partners such as CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. This public-private collaboration has made it possible to amplify the reach of Latin American contemporary art from Paraguay to the world.
Pinta Asunción has established itself as a space for encounter and projection, giving visibility to decentralized territories and proposals, and strengthening the voice of local artists in regional and international circuits.
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