“Unseen Threads” Art Exhibit to Open at IDB Headquarters

WASHINGTON — The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will launch Unseen Threads: Weaving Connections Across Latin American and Caribbean Art on September 4 at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Organized in collaboration with the embassies of Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay, the exhibition celebrates the connections among artists from Latin America and the Caribbean featured in the IDB’s permanent art collection.

The exhibit brings together a wide range of works that highlight shared experiences of exchange, kinship, material exploration, and a deep connection to nature in the artists’ trajectories. It features renowned Latin American and Caribbean artists, such as Olga de Amaral, Gracia Barrios, Fanny Sanín, and Mercedes Pardo, as well as a site‑specific commission by Argentine artist Carolina Carubin. The exhibition invites visitors to explore the IDB’s permanent collection and find new ways to engage with modern and contemporary art from the region.

In addition to the main display at the IDB ArtLAC Gallery, Unseen Threads will be presented as a multi-venue exhibition with satellite locations at the embassies of Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay in Washington, D.C. All venues will open during Hispanic Heritage Month, creating a collaborative platform to showcase and amplify the artistic heritage of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The exhibition also features a digital initiative developed in collaboration with the IDB TechLab, expanding its reach into interactive and virtual spaces. Using generative technologies, the project simulates intuitive connections between Latin American and Caribbean artists, producing visualizations that imagine how their pictorial gestures might have influenced each other. “Unseen Threads invites audiences to imagine a more generous, interconnected art world—one without barriers—where creativity flourishes and strengthens the region’s cultural fabric,” said Julieta Maroni, registrar and curator of the IDB Art Collection.

Unseen Threads: Weaving Connections Across Latin American and Caribbean Art will be open to the public from September 5 at the IDB ArtLAC Gallery, located at 1300 New York Ave NW, Washington, D.C. Admission is free. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET.

The exhibition is curated by Julieta Maroni and Mariana Mejía.

Event Details

What: “Unseen Threads: Weaving Connections Across Latin American and Caribbean Art” Exhibition Opening

When: September 4, at 5:30 p.m. ET 

Where: IDB ArtLAC Gallery (1300 New York Ave NW, Washington, D.C.)

Press Registration: To participate in the opening event, please sign up by emailing [email protected]

For more information about the IDB ArtLAC Gallery, click here.