The Inter-American Development Bank’s Cultural Center reopened its doors on Friday (April 14) to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its Art Program and Collection, after being closed for three years due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

For its reopening, the Cultural Center has curated the “Emerging Voices” exhibition to allow the local community and visitors to get to know the work of prestigious artists such as April Bey, Ale Rambar, Manuel Chavajay, Priscilla Monge, and Antonio Pichillá, among others.

The exhibition, composed of some of the collection’s recent acquisitions, shows the new direction of the IDB Art Collection, while displaying the work of different artists from the region.

“This exhibition reinforces the work of the IDB as an institution that looks to the future and is committed to promoting identity, diversity, and inclusion in the region. We aim to promote the creative talent of emerging and established young artists, particularly those from underrepresented communities in the visual arts, who help us understand the region’s challenges,” says Trinidad Zaldivar, chief of the IDB’s Culture and Creativity Unit.

Emerging Voices seeks to contribute and give voice to the ongoing efforts of the IDB to improve lives, reduce the gender gap, and integrate indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and LGBTQ communities, whose voices are strategic for inclusive and sustainable societies.

The exhibition includes works by artists from IDB member countries, such as Melissa Alcena (Bahamas), Simone Asia (Barbados), Leticia Banegas (Honduras), April Bey (Bahamas), Manuel Chavajay (Guatemala), María Raquel Cochez (Panama), Ana Elena Garuz (Panama), Juana Gómez (Chile), Charles Jean-Pierre (United States/Haiti), Koyoltzintli (United States/Ecuador), Priscilla Monge (Costa Rica), Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín (Guatemala), Ale Rambar (Costa Rica), Natalia Revilla (Peru), Carmen Elena Trigueros (El Salvador), and Rember Yahuarcani (Peru).

The IDB Art Collection, established in 1992, represents the artistic and intellectual vitality of the Bank’s 48 member countries and contributes to understanding the creative diversity of the region.

Emerging Voices was curated by Julieta Maroni, curator and registrar of the IDB Art Collection. It will remain open to the public until August 30, Monday to Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at the IDB Cultural Center on 1300 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC.

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