CAF to present 20 cultural offerings for 13th Long Night of Museums

With music, paintings, weavings, footage, films, fashion shows and other artistic expressions of national cultural relevance, CAF–development bank of Latin America–will participate in the 13th Long Night of museums, to take place next Saturday, May 18, in the city of La Paz.

The exhibit will be entitled “Entretejido” (interweaving) and will feature outstanding national and international artists. Visitors will enjoy works by Juan Conitzer, textile pieces by Martha Teresa Cajías and Raquel Schwartz, fashion shows with designs by Deisy Wende and Ana Palza, national dances and the films: “Wara Wara” and “Vuelve Sebastiana.”

During the announcement of the cultural offering, CAF representative in Bolivia, Gladis Genua, said that the support of the financial institution to the nation focuses not only on improving road infrastructure, water supply, sanitation and social innovation, but also on promoting cultural activities to encourage sustainable and inclusive development.

“CAF is opening exhibition spaces such as Sala Artespacio CAF in La Paz to the general public in order to promote and disseminate art and culture of Latin American nations. The Long Night of Museums is a major event that highlights Bolivian art history and cultural traditions of the nation,” she said.

The Offering

The CAF building in La Paz will become a large art gallery, which will open from 5:00 p.m. until midnight, with several areas exhibiting the various artistic expressions for the visiting public.

The Main Hall will feature an exhibit of six outfits by designer Deisy Wende.

In the auditorium, two films will be projected, which are considered jewels of Bolivian cinematography: “Vuelve Sebastiana” and”Wara Wara”

The first, a semi-documentary short film, was directed by Jorge Ruiz and depicts the life of the “Chipaya” ethnic group in Potosí, through the life of a girl who decides to wander beyond territorial boundaries and enter into Aymara territory to seek better living conditions for her family. This film will be projected at 6:00 p.m.

The second is a film by José María Velasco Maidana, which was re-edited in 2010 with the support of CAF. It is a romantic drama set in the times of the Spanish conquest, which silently narrates the love between indigenous princess Wara Wara and Spanish captain Tristín de la Vega. This film will be projected at 7:00 p.m.

The Artespacio CAF gallery will feature an exhibit honoring Juan Conitzer (1949-2009), with a sample of important naïve paintings, an artistic trend that identifies him as Bolivia’s ultimate plastic artist of the 20th century.

The three garage levels will also be open with exhibits. The first will feature the photographic exhibit “Multiple views, one territory,” which seeks to display the scope of CAF social initiatives in the region. The photos in the display are authored by project beneficiaries, who used photography to show the progress and benefits they have received.

The second level will host five exhibits, including jewelry, handbags, objects and accessories by designer Ana Palza. This exhibition is part of the project to restore the value of the pollera as a piece of traditional clothing representative of Andean womanhood.

Photographs of embroideries will also be exhibited, as part of the social project by Mexican artist Teresa Margolles, which also depict interpretations of Bolivian embroiderers of Los Andes street in La Paz, on violence against women.

The display will also include weavings made with cassette tapes by artist Raquel Schwartz and a piece by artist Raquel Oggero.

Near the exit at this level, visitors will enjoy two areas to take selfies with feature pieces of cultural landscape.

The third level of the parking garage will feature seven exhibitions: A photograph sample from the Museum of Indigenous Art (ASUR) with ancient and contemporary native weavings. The exhibition will include two weaving samples, one focusing on the Kallawaya culture, which will also include a ritual table; and another with works by artists who cooperate with Fundación Arte Campo in Santa Cruz, with pieces form the Ayoreo culture.

The fourth exhibition titled “Cotidiano,” will include weavings using the tatting technique (handmade fabric, which is done with a sequence of knots using an instrument called tatting shuttle, on which the thread is wound).

The space will also become a catwalk for models, who will show designs from the latest collection of renowned La Paz designer Deisy Wende, focusing on the essence of Bolivian culture. The fashion show will also feature the permanent cast of the Bolivian Academy of Folkloric Dances (ADAF-Bolivia) and will exhibit six paintings of traditional dances of the nation.

Visitors can appreciate the work of renowned artist Martha Teresa Cajías (1950-2012) and students of her workshop, who are preserving the tradition of this art form in Bolivia by merging weaving and pedagogy.

On the same theme of weaving, two videos by Mexican anthropologist Mariana Rivera García will be projected, one entitled “Teje para no olvidar” (Weaving lest we forget) and the other, “El hilo de la memoria” (The thread of memory), which show weaving as an activity that to convey stories, traditions and preserve culture.

At the end of the circuit, visitors can enjoy a reading space and learn about the emblematic “Ayoreo” seats and attend lectures on the concept of cultural landscapes and the importance of defending our culture.

The CAF building is located on Avenida Arce No. 2915 (San Jorge) and will be open to the public from 5:00 p.m. until midnight.

The Long Night of Museums is a cultural activity organized by the Culture Administrative Office of the Municipal Government of La Paz (GAMLP) for the last 13 years. In this edition, the purpose is to promote and disseminate the different cultural expressions and maintain the value of the artistic heritage of the city. The event will take place in the cities of La Paz and El Alto, with more than 180 cultural spaces.