MAC Panama won the award for best museum practice

The Museum of Contemporary Art (Mac Panama) became the first museum in Central America to receive the Cimam Award for “Outstanding Museum Practice”, which recognizes exemplary practice in museums around the world.

The International Committee of Museums and Collections of Modern Art (Cimam) recognized the museum for its innovative initiative “CHAGRES: Nomadic Residency Program”, a decentralized art residency project implemented directly in the communities involved.

The project is a joint work between Enea Lebrun (artist and cultural manager), Andrea Lino (leader of the Emberá Drue community), Tranchichi (social cooperative, Ember Drew) and the team at MAC Panama led by public program curator Kevin Lim.

María Lucía Alemánexecutive director of the museum, emphasized the importance Panama and for everyone artistic ecosystem region said the recognition:

“This is the second time we are among the lists nominated and we are very proud to have achieved it recognition because it is the first time that the museum in Central America gets this distinction. This strengthens our mission to which we need to contribute development of the local and regional art ecosystem. It also highlights the impact we have in the Panamanian community by being agents of change in our society and supporting projects and initiatives that achieve these exchanges between contemporary art and domestic scenes, in this case ours original cities. The museum worked and managed to open up to new possibilities and cooperation with other groups in order to improve our culture together and learning opportunities through it.”

It is worth mentioning that this is the third edition Cimam awardin the 2002 edition, it recognizes three museums, two of which in Latin Americathe museums of Kokama, in Manaus, Amazonia, Brazil, and the Provincial Museum of Fine Arts “Rosa Galisteo de Rodríguez”, Santa Fe, Argentina.

Project information

CHAGRES RESIDENCEis a project of decentralized artistic residencies, which is implemented in cooperation with leaders and managers involved communities. In this first edition, Chagres: Nomadic Abode takes place in the region Alto Chagres (hydrographic basin), u Emberá Drú community (Indigenous territory).

With the intention of questioning the boundaries between art and craft and the forms of representation around them, the project proposes to create a space for dialogue that deals with issues related to contemporary artistic practicesthe dignity of artisanal work, reconnecting with the knowledge of ancestors, saving the cultural heritage of the people and the visibility and representation of these resisting art forms hegemonic and canonical currents of Western art.

The final product of the residence is the development initiatives of social participation where participants of the residence (craftsmen, leaders and artists) to provide young generations of communities with tools that actively involve them in efforts to save and preserve the cultural heritage of their communities and promote it empowerment radical his identities.

This project is possible thanks to the support of @atp_panama and @panama.naturaleza

Nomadic Residence program of five days of process in Chagres and with participation twelve artists involved (@massielbardisa, Yaritza Caisamo, Johan Mecha, @fany_mcghan, José Caisamo, @ali_dakini, @piriatijagua, @dely_art_circus, Sorelvia Villalaz, Israel @barbara_cartier, Ramiro Caisamo and @risethebeans).