Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Panamá

About the individual or institution nominating:

1) Name and Surname of the individual submitting the nomination:

Jennifer Choy

About the practice, project or institution nominated:

2) Name of the institution nominated:

Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Panamá

2.1) Name of the director and email address of the institution nominated:

María Lucía Alemán, info@macpanama.org

2.2) Name of the institution, practice or project nominated:

Nomadic Residency Programme

3) Argue in one sentence why you think the project you nominate is outstanding and could serve as an example for the entire community of modern and contemporary art museums.

With the intention of questioning the limits drawn between art and crafts, the project creates spaces for dialogue between artists and artisans, addressing issues related to contemporary artistic practices, the dignity of artisan work, the disconnection with ancestral knowledge, the rescue of the cultural heritage of peoples and the visibility and representation of these art forms that resist the hegemonic and canonical currents of Western art.

3) Description of the practice or project. (max. 500 words)

CHAGRES: Residencia Nómada

The “Nomadic Residency Program” is a decentralized artistic residency project, which is carried out directly in and with the communities involved. In this first edition, “CHAGRES: Residencia Nómada” is developed in the Alto Chagres region, in the Emberá Drúa community, Ējuä So (indigenous territory). The project is a joint effort among Enea Lebrun, Artist and cultural manager; Andrea Lino, leader of Emberá Drúa community; Tranchichi (Community cooperative, Emberá Drúa); and the team of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Panama led by our public program curator Kevin Lim.

With the intention of questioning the boundaries drawn between art and artisan work, the project creates spaces for dialogue between artists and artisans addressing issues related to contemporary artistic practices, the dignity of traditional craftwork, reconnection with ancestral knowledge, rescue of cultural heritage of the people and the visibility and representation of these art forms that resist to the hegemonic and canonical currents of Western art.

We want to build a polyphonic discourse. Make practices based on

materiality belonging to the environment, the multiple symbolic strata that can have these forms of expression, and at the same time understanding the different challenges that face this territory/identity. This program has a particular focus on the preservation, transfer, and perpetuation of the knowledge and wisdom of these communities to their younger generations, relying on a methodology of collaborative process involving young people in aspects of training and management of cultural and identity rescue projects.

MAC Panamá public program aims to be a collaboration platform that opens its space, resources, and possibilities to develop projects with other agents, communities, and collectives that are thinking, practicing, and addressing common concerns.

We want to thank Enea Lebrun for her important long-term artistic and research practice with the Emberá Drúa community, hand in hand with Andrea Lino, in which we have been able to collaborate on different occasions from MAC Panama. Without them, this would have been simply impossible.

We want to thank also Kevin Lim, for his strong commitment, ethical approach, and lucid vision; and Gretel Mojica and the team from MAC Panama for coordinating this challenging project.

And of course, we want to thank all the participant artists for their participation and dedication; Andrea Lino and the Emberá Drúa community members involved in the program, for receiving us, and embracing the possibilities of this artistic collaboration. And especially, for their fight to preserve and develop their ancestral knowledge and their natural territory in Alto Chagres.

“Chagres” is possible thanks to the support of Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá y Panama naturaleza

Participating artists