Cuba Latin
Latin American Art Museum of Amersfoort (LAKMA)
LAKMA started with a foundation dedicated to the Spanish artist José Gausachs. Gausachs was an artist who emigrated from Spain during the Spanish Civil War, before the Second World War. For many, Gausachs is an unknown name; however, he is of great importance to Latin America’s art history. He was the disciple of great masters such as Isidre Nonell and Felix Mestre. He cultivated friendships in Paris with other famous painters of his time, such as Amadeo Modigliani, Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. He was appreciated by intellectuals like Tristan Tzara, whose friendship and support made a great difference for Gausachs during the exile. Furthermore, he was praised by great writers of that time: Hemingway acquired one of his paintings, and the poet Carles Ribas dedicated a poem to the remarkable painter after the inauguration of Gausach’s last exposition in Barcelona.
The Gausach Art Foundation has undertaken the project of creating the first museum in The Netherlands dedicated to Spanish, Mexican, Caribbean, and Central and South American contemporary art. The museum’s collection will serve as a cross-cultural exchange gateway between Latin America and the diverse population of the Netherlands. The museum will offer numerous research and study possibilities with its cultural center Casa Latina through various exhibitions and programs.
ALI: What inspired you to start a museum for Latin American Art in the Netherlands?
LAKMA: We saw that there was a need for a macro institution to support on a nonprofit basis the promotion of Latin American culture and arts. We had a good collection but not a lot of support—when we had a proposal for an exhibition it always would come out of the Latin American embassies here. The embassies, however, they don’t have a multi-year budget—they are working with a one-year budget. They aren’t interested in something that might take place in three years, as they don’t know if they will even be established still in the country. The museums on the other hand have full exhibition schedules for years in advance and need to have a long perspective of the programming for their sponsorship. Therein lay the problem—so in order to create movement and interest in Latin American art, whose effects can be felt in commerce, politics, dialogue, education, one macro organization needed to be in place to solidify all of the smaller foundations and culture departments of the embassies. We had a concept of “united we stand.” We started just under three years ago—there were a number of stakeholders needing networking with the embassies and with the artists, and we finally got enough momentum going to start the projection of a museum. They thought of which city would be best—wanted a big and prestigious museum. They considered Amsterdam and The Hague; however, they settled on The Hague as that is where the embassies are and there is a higher status of inhabitants. It is a politically charged, cultural city. There is a new train system under development there currently, which will bring travelers directly from Paris. There is a drive for big corporations to settle their corporate headquarters there. This way people can see that there is a potential market for Latin American art.
ALI: How, over the past 5-10 years, has Latin American art been received in Europe?
LAKMA: It is regarded very highly. That is undisputed in the sense that Latin America is seeking an audience in Europe. When the work of Latin American artists travels to Europe, it increases in value and becomes more interesting. Europeans are investors and explorers and are interested in emerging new artists and stories. We have had exhibitions of Frida Kahlo, Javier Marin, the art history of Cuba; they have all been a huge success. The industry is definitely growing. This will be the first Latin American art museum in Europe. There is an exhibition hall in Zurich, but it’s not a museum. This being the first is an indication that the interest is growing and a lot of large companies are establishing themselves in the region.
ALI: What was the exposure of Latin American art in the big European museums before LAKMA?
LAKMA: There were fewer activities. In the past three years there has been more movement, there has been a synergy that happened simultaneously—it has been the right moment. Europe always looks at North America; there is a lot of interest in Latin American Art and business in North America, and Europe always tends to arrive late to these conclusions. Now is the right time for Europe.
ALI: Where would you say are the hot spots for Latin American art at the moment?
LAKMA: Spain and Italy—but of course this can be seen as an opportunity to expand the market to Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. There is an interest but lack of the presence of a strong organization in order to bring impressive exhibitions that will secure endorsement from the government and large corporations who would like their brands to be seen. That is the economic structure that this idea is based upon at the moment.
ALI: In terms of European interest in Latin American art, what is most popular at the moment?
LAKMA: That is really yet to be discovered—we are opening a new chapter. There are many different installations—modern art, Brazilian graffiti. The municipality of Rotterdam even made space available for graffiti to take place in the streets. The Netherlands invests a lot in its art and culture. There is a large population of Latin Americans and there is a large population of Latinos in the Netherlands. That should give an indication of how things are going to be growing.
ALI: What are you looking to do in 2010? Have you been affected by the current economy?
LAKMA: In the coming year we are excited to have an exhibition from Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and some very impressive artists from Spain and Latin America.
Of course the economic downturn did have an effect; at the same time it also gave cohesiveness to the community to make this happen. All of the cultural departments were feeling the effects of the downturn and a meeting was held, sponsored by the Venezuelan embassy, to discuss how to subsidize cultural affairs in a downturn such as this. Many economic advisors offered their services for free. We met to look at this straight in the face as a community.
About the Author
The Alternative Latin Investor staff is comprised of finance and journalism professionals who create articles through a process of research, data gathering, and industry interviews in order to provide unique content regarding alternative asset investment within the Latin American region. For more information visit us at www.alternativelatininvestor.com
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