The Paiz Foundation will present the 18th Arte Paiz Biennial between June 2nd and July 2nd, 2012. For this edition the curatorial team is headed by Santiago Olmo, from Spain, as its General Curator and Anabella Acevedo Leal, Silvia Herrera Ubico, and Javier Payeras, all from Guatemala, as its co-Curators. The event will be held in several locations: the Lux theater, 6th Avenue, (EX) Céntrico, Casa Ibargüen, Centro Municipal Arte y Cultura, Vestíbulo Gran Hotel, and Artecentro Gap, all in Guatemala City. The Arte Paiz Biennial is one of the key contemporary art events in Guatemala and Central America. Established in 1978, it reflects social issues around the region through a variety of artistic proposals, providing a platform for emerging artists and displaying the work of well-established ones. "Under the slogan of Convivir / Compartir, the 18th Arte Paiz Biennial intends to highlight the importance of education for an understanding of culture in general and of art in particular," notes the Foundation's announcement, which posits as an essential element the "recuperation" of more dynamic, participative, and solidarity-based spaces where the topic of education can be presented as an instrument for dialog, communication, and cohesive, within a framework of respect for diversity. The main objective of the 18th Arte Paiz Biennial is to foster knowledge, dialog, and conviviality as essential values for a more cohesive society. Additionally, it proposes the following central priorities: 1. "To work from a research and study perspective on the Guatemalan scene and its artists, highlighting current shifts and assessing their impact in other social terrains, in order to establish a broad panoramic of the issue that would allow its understanding and evaluation, both at the national and international levels." 2. "To promote greater international visibility for the Guatemalan scene." 3. "To establish connections between Guatemalan artists and international trends, through working contacts with incited artists, students, and other culture-field professionals." 4. "To expand and deepen the educational potential of art as a means of symbolic communication and the transmission of ideas. In that sense, it will promote educational activities and workshops for both school student and children, and the general public and families, also in the form of guided tours. Artists will collaborate in the achievement of these goals." For more information, visit:
http://fundacionpaiz.org.gt/fundacion/bienal