From here to somewhere: Latin-American art archives outside Latin-America

• In Event: The Latin American Artistic Archive and its Display at Home and Abroad

Abstract

This paper intends to discuss possible motivations and consequences of the migration of artist’s personal papers and other art special collections from Latin America to US collections and institutions in recent years. If the art market dynamics, the growing interest in Latin-American art and the large concentration of well funded cultural institutions with aggressive acquisition programs in the US are in fact pressing the sales of important collections of original documents and archival materials created in countries like Mexico or Brazil, this phenomenon should be addressed as a contemporary social and political issue regarding the future of art research, access and preservation at those same places. The rise of conceptual art and the necessary perspective change from a more traditional object oriented art form to a document based material paradigm could also indicate a new shift in art collecting practices and demands. The fragility of cultural heritage systems and institutions in Latin America will also be addressed as a central issue of the problem. Recent projects, acquisitions and other study cases will be presented and analyzed to corroborate with the contextualization of the subject. As a conclusion this brief investigation will also try to demonstrate how national/international partnerships and collaborative initiatives could contribute to minimize some of the possible risks posed to national/local cultural heritage preservation and community identity and representation.

Author

• Gabriel M Bevilacqua, Universidade Federal Fluminense