Chile Highlights: Second version of Galería Weekend Santiago to be held from May 10-13th

Starting May 10th throughout the 13th, the galleries of Santiago will open their doors to discover the city through contemporary art with a large program of activities that include simultaneous openings, guided tours, special art sales, talks, live music and studio visits with artists.

Galería Weekend also seeks to generate stronger ties between galleries, artists and the general public. The Santiago version of the “Gallery Weekend” model, which takes place in more than 20 cities around the world, has already positioned itself as the most important cultural event of the first semester in Chile. Last year, its first version managed to bring together more than eight thousand people and exhibit the work of 60 artists.

"These types of initiatives contribute to the development of our culture, and bring the work of artists closer to a wider audience, in addition to activating new spaces to generate dialogue between different actors of the visual arts scene that are not necessarily connected," says Victor Leyton, one of the organizers of Galería Weekend, along with Juan Pablo Vergara.

Among the new proposals that this second version will offer is an award where a jury composed of collectors, directors of institutions and curators will nominate the best exhibition. The award will highlight the closing event of Galería Weekend with a free show at Teatro Oriente of Providencia, which will include, among others surprises, a multimedia presentation by German musician Atom TM.

Another activity will be a collective exhibition titled “Open Collection: The Sum of the Concrete Facts and their Artifacts” where a group of collectors were invited to share some of their iconic pieces that reflect the artistic identity of the country. A practice, not very common in Chile, that seeks to encourage future art collections. The exhibition is curated by Matías Allende and will be open to the public free of charge from the 7th until the 31st of May at the Providencia Cultural Foundation.

Galeria Weekend will count with all members of AGAC (Association of Contemporary Art Galleries) and other independent spaces such as Sagrada Mercancia, Mutt and Tajamar Gallery. According to the president of the Association, Isabel Aninat, "it is important to give visibility to cultural spaces that are doing great things in our country. Chile has a very vibrant artistic scene and events such as Galería Weekend allows us to publicize and validate our artists."

With the support of ProChile and the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, the event will also feature prominent international guests including Andrew Durbin, Editor for America at Frieze Magazine New York; Susana Corchia, Director of Barcelona Gallery Weekend; Llucia Homs, President of the Think Thank Talking Galleries and Sophie Neuendorf, Director of International Partnerships of Artnet.

Another novelty of this version is the New Collectors Program, which starting May will be available on the Gallery Weekend website. The website will have a catalog of works from participating galleries at more accessible prices. Likewise, mediated activities for those interested in learning more about these works and their artists will be communicated within the same platform. With these initiatives, we hope to reach out to potential new collectors, promote the art market in our country, and disseminate the work of new artists.

Participating Artists:

Juvenal Barría, Ignacio Gumucio, Paula Dittborn, María Elena Neveillan, Francisca Garriga, Luis Navarro, Jorge Aceituno, Gonzalo Cienfuegos, Ismael Frigerio, Guillermo Nuñez, Omar Gatica, Benjamín Lira, Rimer Cardillo, Hernán Gana, Ana Taulis, Alex Chellew, Marcial Ugarte, Felipe Lavín, Neto, José Cárcamo, Fernanda López, Camila Lobos, Sato, Lucas Estévez, Iñaki Muñoz, Claudia Osorio, Grace Weinrib, Ana Videla, Paloma Castillo, Diego Santa María, Alexandra-Katherina, Julen Birke, María Karantzi, Ronny Szillo, Alicia Vega, and Fernando Portal.

Participating Galleries and Cultural Spaces:

AFA, Artespacio, Die Ecke, Ekho, Factoría Santa Rosa, Galería Isabel Aninat, Galería Espora, Isabel Croxatto Galería, NAC, Galería La Sala, Patricia Ready, Casa Uno, Galería Gabriela Mistral, Mutt, OMA Art Gallery, Posada del Corregidor, Palacio Schacht, Sagrada Mercancía, Galería Tajamar, Galería Macchina, Madhaus, Galpón Victor Manuel, and Teatro Oriente.