Exhibit “Art in Society: the Power of Culture”
Works by Mexico’s Diego Rivera, Andy Warhol of the United States, and Edgar Negret of Colombia are part of an art exhibit organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Cultural Center.
The exhibit, Art in Society: The Power of Culture, includes 23 pieces from the IDB Art Collection. It will be open to the public August 3 to September 28 in the art gallery at its Washington, D.C. headquarters.
The works are inspired by themes such as Latin American and Caribbean history, indigenous cultures, slavery, revolution, freedom, justice, violence, and popular traditions."The Power of Culture" will offer visitors an opportunity to learn about a variety of creative expressions.
"Culture is an element of development,” said Iván Duque Márquez, chief of the IDB’s Culture, Creativity, and Solidarity Division. “Through this exhibit we want to show how the power of color, images, and messages help us to reflect on our societies. The IDB promotes the work of our region’s artists with the goal of enriching our cultural patrimony.”
The exhibition, which will be open from Monday to Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the IDB art gallery at 1300 New York Ave, NW, also includes works by Carlos Cruz-Diez of Venezuela, Antonio Seguí of Argentina, Maxwell Taylor of Bahamas, Patricia Israel of Chile, José Alberto Hernández Campos of Costa Rica, Luis González Palma of Guatemala and Virginia Patrone of Uruguay, among others.
IDB Cultural Center
The IDB is the only international financial institution with a cultural center devoted to the promotion of cultural and creative entrepreneurship and of Latin American and Caribbean artistic heritage. Besides curating the Bank’s art collection, the Cultural Center leads four programs: cultural development projects, art exhibits, concerts, and book and film presentations.
Since its inception in 1992, the IDB Cultural Center has organized more than 480 cultural eventsand 80 art exhibits. The Bank’s art collection, with more than 1,722 pieces, showcases the cultural diversity of the Bank’s 48 member countries.
Through a technical cooperation program, the Cultural Center has supported more than 500 cultural entrepreneurship projects in the Bank’s 26 borrowing member countries, seeking to integrate creative activities with the region’s social and economic development.