PINTA PANAMÁ ART WEEK: AN EVENT POISED TO PUT THE CITY ON THE GLOBAL CONTEMPORARY ART MAP

Panama is preparing to become the epicenter of regional art with the first edition of Pinta Panama, May 21-25, 2025. At an effervescence moment for the local artistic ecosystem, the fair seeks to consolidate the Panamanian scene, promote the circulation of artists and create a meeting space for the artistic currents of Central and South America. Emiliano Valdes, general curator of the project, shares his vision of Panama's potential as a cultural connection point.

Pinta is launching Panamá Art Week in 2025 –May 21 to 25–, an initiative created to foster the integration of the art scene and strengthen and consolidate best practices within the sector.

Pinta Lima is the most important contemporary art fair in Peru, presenting in its 12th edition a solid program that celebrates the diversity of the Latin American artistic and cultural scene. Located at Casa Prado in Miraflores, Lima, the fair is an essential event where a network of artists, galleries, curators, and collectors from the region connect with the international scene.

The EFG Latin America Art Award, in partnership with ArtNexus, is pleased to announce Ishmael Randall-Weeks from Cusco, (Peru), represented by Arróniz Arte Contemporáneo, from Mexico City, (Mexico), as the artist nominated for EFG's annual acquisition award.

Artist Lorena Torres presents Nada es distinto, a series of paintings that explore personal emotions through a direct relationship between lived experience and gesture. The work functions as an intimate record, where painting operates more as testimony than as aesthetic object.

The Casa de México Foundation in Spain is hosting, through the second week of June, a must-see exhibition from the Jumex Collection—one of the most significant contemporary art collections in Latin America. Titled Éramos felices y no lo sabíamos (We Were Happy and Didn't Know It), the exhibition revisits the vibrant artistic scene of 1990s Mexico, offering a re-reading of one of the most dynamic periods in the country’s contemporary art history.

MAC Panamá's Chief Curator Juan Canela, reflects on the challenges of curating in Central America, the value of collaborative practices, and the context of Panamanian art. He is participating in the inaugural Pinta Panamá Art Week, running May 21–25 with activities centered on the local art scene.

From Thursday, May 22 to Saturday, May 24, the FORO at Pinta Panamá Art Week will take place across various institutions in the city. Curated by Mónica E. Kupfer, the series presents a diverse program featuring both local and international experts. The event is free and open to the general public.

A selection of events, activities and cultural proposals bring together artists, curators, collectors and specialists in different parts of Panama City. Pinta Panama Art Week proposes an ambitious agenda from May 21 to 25 with the best of contemporary art in the region.

The Museum of the Mola inaugurated the photographic exhibition Portraits of Struggle: 100 Years of the Dule Revolution by renowned Guna photographer Lois Iglesias.

As part of Pinta Panamá Art Week, Lo que sueña toda vida takes place—an exhibition project that reflects on ways of living in the Central American country. Curated by Juan Canela and Emiliano Valdés, the program features a series of artistic actions by Felipe Gómez and Jonathan Harker, the Enlaces Program, Libertad Rojo, and Humberto Vélez.

Two spaces that have sought to foster the growth of local art since their inception are part of Pinta Panamá Art Week, where creative energy is palpable. With proposals that combine exhibition, reflection, and audience development, both galleries present themselves as driving forces in an expanding scene shaped by collective work, experimentation, and a shared desire to strengthen the cultural fabric.

By Álvaro de Benito

Julia Morandeira Arrizabalaga (Bilbao, Spain, 1986) is in her first year at the Reina Sofía Museum as Director of Studies, a position she has held since October 2024 and which, since March of this year, she has combined with the directorship of the Instituto Cáder de Arte Centroamericano (ICAC). This organization faces several challenges in its core missions of raising awareness and promoting, but above all, researching and disseminating the reality of contemporary Central American art. It has ten years ahead of it to do so, and the foundations are already being laid to ensure that its objectives are met. Morandeira welcomes us to her office at the Reina Sofía, a few floors above the building that houses the library and which marks its character and connection with divulgation, to talk about the project, her vision, and the progress and future that are already taking shape.

Despite its rich, diverse artistic production with deep historical roots, Panama's art market remains limited. With fewer than ten active galleries and no fully established art fair to date, the country’s artistic ecosystem is still in an early stage of development. However, creative energy is clearly present, and 2025 could mark a turning point.