Notes related to Panamá

With the large-scale installation and performative work of Antonio José Guzmán and Iva Jankovic, Panama participates for the second time as a National Pavilion in the Biennale di Venezia 2026.

Video, textiles and the body make up a network of relationships in constant construction in the exhibition curated by Irene Gelfman with the participation of artists from Latin America.

The Salvadoran curator reflects on the relationship between art, memory, and politics, and on how his work at Y.ES Contemporary seeks to generate opportunities for local artists while building networks with the international scene. He will be participating in the 2026 edition of Pinta Panamá in the FORO talk.

The executive director of MAC Panama, who will participate in the discussion Building Institutional Stories, part of the Pinta Panamá FORO initiative, envisions great opportunities for Central America with the strengthening of its institutions and joint work.

The exhibition The Dimension of the Invisible: Ecofeminist Traces of Panamanian Art brings together 10 women artists who question the boundaries between nature, body and community at El Centro Cultural de España – Casa del Soldado. The exhibition is curated by Gladys Turner Bosso.

The photographic exhibition of the American Tova Katzman leads the viewer to question the limits that mark the territory we inhabit.

The exhibition of the Swiss-Canadian photographers at the Alliance Française in Panama City invites the public to look beyond what we can usually see.

During the Central American country’s art week, works that study histories, recreate them, and bring them into reflection will be presented. From the play with materials to the manipulation of space, Lulu Molinares, Cisco Merel, Arístides Ureña Ramos, and Isabel de Obaldía create pieces that propose alternative readings of memory, territory, and everyday life.

On the Amador Causeway, right at the entrance to the Panama Canal of the Pacific Ocean, the Museum of Biodiversity takes place, with a structure that does not go unnoticed both for its shapes and for its color. It is an avant-garde building that coexists with the natural  environment.

Amalanga Awafani, an exhibition by the South African visual artist in Panama City, leads us to think about the passage of time and how identity and dignity cease to be a constant.

The museum seeks to reaffirm its leadership as a cultural institution and its commitment to a more sustainable, inclusive, and creative future for the country and the region. Application deadline: March 29, 2026.

The event will unfold a public and free program including exhibitions, tours, talks, film screenings, music, and cultural and touristic experiences.

An ocean-centered research project and a historical retrospective dedicated to Trixie Briceño shape MAC Panamá’s current program.

Giana De Dier presents an exhibition in Madrid that proposes a visual reflection on memory. Through archival imagery, appropriation, and the technique of collage, the Panamanian artist reconstructs the affective memory of El Terraplén in response to its recent transformation.

This March, the event will once again take place in Panama City, opening new spaces for exchange to celebrate regional diversity.

For over four decades, Mónica Kupfer has been researching, writing, and curating exhibitions that seek to tell a story of Panamanian and Central American Art that is still under construction. She played a key role in the first edition of Pinta Panamá Art Week, where she coordinated FORO—a regional discussion platform that brought together artists, curators, collectors, and institutions.

With its inaugural edition, Panama Art Week stepped onto the contemporary art stage not as a marketplace for immediate transactions, but as a catalyst for long-term cultural positioning. 

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.

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.

After a successful showing in 2024 at this major international platform for contemporary art, the exhibition Surcos: En el cuerpo y en la tierra (Furrows: On the Body and the Land) returns to the country and will open on April 25 at the Museo del Canal in Panama City’s historic Casco Antiguo.

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.

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.

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.

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

Pinta Panamá Art Week makes its debut from May 21 to 25. Over five days, it will offer a public program filled with art activities, inviting attendees to explore a city undergoing a cultural boom. This first edition positions Panama City as a key destination on the international art and culture calendar.

The Panarte gallery at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Panama hosts Cúmulus: 10+ Years of Estudio Nuboso, an exhibition celebrating over a decade of collaborative practices at the crossroads of art, science, and ecology.

In the heart of Casco Antiguo, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Panama (MAC) embarks on a new chapter with the opening of its Sala Satélite, a space dedicated to showcasing projects developed from its Permanent Collection. The inaugural exhibition, 60+1 el pequeño gran museo de Ancón (60+1 The Little Big Museum of Ancón), serves as a tribute, a reflection, and an exploration of the museum’s history.