Welcome to Lima, gastronomic and piracy paradise! where luckily some stubborn and interesting artists decided not to emigrate yet, so you can still meet them. I can suggest you different angles of this city since I'm related to some of them as an artist and owner of a young fashion designer's shop, Pulga. I also work at 80m2 gallery and used to be a member of La Culpable.
Lima's artistic scene is very complex. It can seem buoyant 'cause of it's recent “growth” (in market terms and in certain international recognition), but deeper you can see the results of the internal war and Fujimori's dictatorship. Conservative art schools and the lack of a cultural local policy had as a result tons of artists living outside and a scene made of personal initiatives, which can be found in different circles:
- A curator like Jorge Villacorta or an artist like Alfredo Márquez can give you a clear and lucid introduction to contemporary local art.
- To visit artist's spaces you can have a walk by Barranco district, where various of them rent old houses. This is a gallery's district, as well as San Isidro, where curator Miguel Zegarra might be a enthusiastic guide, specially about young artists's work.
- During the last years art collectives passed different crisis. La Culpable and Martín Olivos cesed activities, but there still other like El Colectivo and Casa Túpac. We can contact some of this artists if you're into independent and collective work, or contact Elgalpón if you're more into performatic arts.
- Luis Alvarado, Alan Poma or Alvaro Pastor, would be great to get in touch with experimental music scene and history.
- El Album del Universo Bakterial and Estruendomudo are two great editorial projects. Estruendomudo recently published an art book, “Iquitos”, a compendium of work made about this fascinating city.
- Not to miss: The MALI's contemporary art collection.
