The Organization of American States (OAS) celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Art Museum of the Americas (AMA) last week with the opening of the exhibition "Washington 1948-1990: A Meridian of Artistic Modernity in the Americas."
The exhibition brings together the museum's legacy in promoting Latin American and Caribbean art and the U.S. capital's role as a meeting point for artistic creation across the Americas.
OAS Assistant Secretary General Laura Gil celebrated the AMA's half-century of history and the "extraordinary" quality of the newly opened exhibition, adding: "Above all, we gather to celebrate a new beginning. Anniversaries often invite us to look back, highlight our achievements, and pay tribute to those who came before us. They also call on us to build the future."
Ambassador Gil also welcomed the exhibition's opening as the public introduction of the Jean Michel Arrighi Cultural and Research Center, which will bring together the AMA and the Columbus Memorial Library, both located at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC.
The Chair of the Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the OAS, Ambassador Mónica Palencia, highlighted the value of artistic expression and of those who find in it a space for connection. "Today, I want to focus on each viewer. The viewer who, in a time of upheaval, terrorism, and political divisions, continues to embrace art as the only way to make culture a space for everyday life and allow the spirit to transcend," she said.
For her part, curator Christina Chirouze, speaking on behalf of the curatorial team, explained that the exhibition is organized into six sections tracing the history of Latin American art from Washington, from the search for a modernity of its own to surrealism, geometric abstraction, ancestralism, and new figuration.
Meanwhile, the Vice President of the Friends of the Art Museum of the Americas (FAMA), Sandra Beruto, highlighted the significance of the commemoration. "As we gather to open 'Washington 1948-1990: A Meridian of Artistic Modernity in the Americas,' we celebrate a remarkable collection of works and pay tribute to 50 years of history, passion, and artistic legacy since the founding of the Art Museum of the Americas," she said. She also reaffirmed FAMA's commitment to promoting and raising the visibility of modern and contemporary art from Latin America and the Caribbean.
The exhibition combines works from the AMA's collection with books, catalogs, magazines, letters, photographs, and press clippings documenting the presence of Latin American art in the United States. It also highlights the work of José Gómez Sicre, who, through the Pan American Union and later the museum, promoted modern art from across the Americas and helped build its collection.
The exhibition, which will remain open until March 14, 2027, includes a section dedicated to artists associated with the Association of Legacies of American Modernity (ALMA), whose international debut accompanies the exhibition. Featuring works from the museum's collection and loans from artists' estates, the commemoration highlights five decades of the AMA's work to preserve the artistic heritage of the Americas and promote cultural dialogue among their peoples.
Reference: E-113/26
