PINTA PANAMA ART WEEK: AN INSTITUTION, A GALLERY, AN ACTIVATION AND A CONVERSATION
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.
Panama's history is marked by the encounter of indigenous communities, Afro-descendants, Europeans, Asians and many other cultures. This forged a complex and vibrant identity that defines not only the Panamanian population but also its artistic identity, in which different traditions and expressions converge.
Under the curatorship of Emiliano Valdés, Pinta Panama Art Week holds its first edition seeking to highlight that diversity, making visible how these multiple identities are reflected in Panamanian and Latin American contemporary art. Arte al Día highlights an institution, a gallery, an activation and a talk within a synergic and eclectic agenda that puts Panama in the artistic focus of the region.
An institution: Casa Santa Ana
A non-profit foundation founded in 2015 by Johnny Roux, whose goal was to connect people through contemporary art. Located in the historic neighborhood of Santa Ana in Panama City, its mission is to make art accessible and relevant to all, encouraging dialogue and reflection on current socio-political contexts.
The institution has an exhibition space and a program of international artists' residencies, promoting collaboration between local and international artists. It also organizes workshops such as Voces en Acción (Voices in Action), directed by Donna Conlon and Jonathan Harker, and has La Leonera, a children's library. Casa Santa Ana seeks to build an inclusive community, strengthening cultural ties both locally and globally through art.
The Casa Santa Ana Foundation will present the exhibition “Nothing is different” by Lorena Torres and the results of Neo Matloga's residency. In addition, Johnny Roux, collector and president of the foundation, will participate in a conversation as part of FORO, Pinta's series of talks.
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Lorena Torres. La despedida, 2025. Óleo sobre tela, 170 x 150 cm. Carolina Hausmann
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Lorena Torres. Te miro mientras no me miras, 2025. Óleo sobre tela, 170 x 150 cm. Carolina Hausmann
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Vistas de la exposición. Cortesía Fundación Casa Santa Ana
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Vistas de la exposición. Cortesía Fundación Casa Santa Ana
A gallery: ArteConsult
One of Panama's most prominent galleries, founded in 1979 by Panamanian art historian Carmen Alemán Healy. Throughout its history, the gallery has represented a diverse range of Latin American artists, both established and emerging, consolidating itself as a key space for the management, conservation and commercialization of contemporary art.
Currently directed by Ana Berta Carrizo, the gallery specializes in art conservation and consulting, providing specialized advice to collectors in Panama and around the world. In addition, under Carrizo's new approach, ArteConsult organizes exhibitions showcasing the work of key artists and is also dedicated to the preservation of Latin American artistic heritage.
Over the decades, Arteconsult has worked with key artists such as Tabo Toral, Viviana Zargón, Mario Vélez, Juan Ricardo Mejía, Cecilia Paredes, Aristides Ureña Ramos, Fernando Otero, José Pablo Solis, Alicia Viteri, Giovanni Randazzo, Hugo González, Esviel Jeffers, Vanessa Orelli, Sol Moreno, Vanessa Balbo, Marissa Chapman, and Rubén Lozano, all great exponents of Latin American contemporary art.
ArteConsult gallery will present the group exhibition “Parallel Universes” and “We'll see” by artist Leslie Molina.
An activation: “Lo que sueña toda vida” (What every life dreams of) at Ciudad de las Artes
Curated by Juan Canela and Emiliano Valdés, it presents projects by the Enlaces Program, Jonathan Harker and Felipe Gómez, Libertad Rojo and Humberto Vélez. These are different interventions and artistic actions in dialogue with the spatial, urban and environmental characteristics of the City of Arts and Panama in general. They seek to reflect on inhabiting, living and existing. In this way, each of the participants portrays from their own possibility different ways of “living (and flourishing) in the midst of difficulties”.
The activation “Lo que sueña toda vida” will be presented at the City of Arts.
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Programa Enlaces. La vida que nos dieron, 2025. Fotos: Alegre Saporta
A lecture at FORO: “Thinking curatorial practice from the region”
Coordinated by Monica E. Kupfer, Pinta Panama Art Week's FORO is a space for reflection on the contemporary art scenes of Central America and the Caribbean.
On Thursday, May 22 at 2 p.m. at the MAC Panama auditorium (Address: San Blas Street, Ancon; next to the Panamanian Institute of Special Qualification and the Family Courts), a discussion will be held to debate on the current challenges and opportunities in the curatorial practice of the region. Juan Canela -head curator of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Panamá, Sofía Villena Araya -head curator of MADC, San José- and Emiliano Valdés -general curator of Pinta Panamá Art Week- will participate.
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