Art has always served as a vehicle for expression and communication, but in the region it is not well paid. How can we explain the growing artistic wealth in a territory where social inequality prevails?

Contemporary sociologists and thinkers refer to the reality of Latin America as being characterized by a combination of sociocultural heterogeneity, social inequality and economic instability. Renowned anthropologist Nestor Garcia Canclini He referred to the region as “the continent of semi,” where “a semi-oligarchic dominant order, a semi-industrialized capitalist economy and semi-transformative social movements interact.” The cause and effect of these circumstances is the territory from which artist collectives emerge, increasingly named by curators around the world.

Although art in Latin America has existed since the first civilization inhabited it thousands of years ago, Latin American art As such, he is much younger and He passed -and it keeps happening- through a long process of reception, selection, appropriation, metabolization and transformation of ideas and trends –above all– European, which led to the construction of a unique identity, according to artists and curators Make sure you live. 

“Access to art education in Latin American universities versus developed countries and the impact of social and cultural factors that encourage cultural consumption, have a lot to do with the challenge of the regional art market,” reflects Juliana Henao, member of the Cultural Committee of SURA, a cultural promoter who ensures the conservation and promotion of one of the most representative collections of Latin American art.

Also Nicolas Oyuela, Argentine visual artist, reflects: “Being Latin American is complex when defining our identity,” referring to the creation space of the Latin American art as a “transmutation furnace””, where “there are ideas that come from Europe, or wherever, but new ideas are cooked up.” 

From a social point of view, considering that in Latin America there is more inequality between social classes than in, for example, Europe and the United States, There is more tension and more things can be said, and for this, art is the communication channel par excellence. "We are talking about a very conflictive region where There are constantly many problems that have to be made visible.“,” says Irvir Cruz, a Mexican visual artist. 

In this sense, Irvir Cruz says that there is a great feeling of solidarity and support among the different communities of emerging Latin American artists. While Oyuela highlights that in Latin America art is also the cradle of many avant-garde movementsFor example, she cites the revolutionary feminist movement “Ni Una Menos,” which was born around artists and poets in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in response to the drama of femicides.

When the context conditions

The downside of having a complex and rich reality that 'gives a lot to talk about' is that An expectation is generated for the Latin American artist that often conditions him to have to become politicized., forcing him to talk about social problems, or to have a concrete message that transcends the abstract.It is difficult to fit into that place while at the same time satisfying and responding to the demands of the market.“, Oyuela confesses. 

On the other hand, there is the paradox that, beyond the fact that Latin America is a culturally rich and vibrant region, The reality of the Latin American artist is, in general, precarious.Objectively speaking, most Latin American artists must work in other jobs to survive. 

“It was very difficult for me. I had to move to a bigger city to be able to learn more about the art world,” shares emerging Mexican artist Irvir Cruz, adding that for Latin American art to grow and develop, “More dissemination and support from government institutions is needed”, because this is “essential to promote artists of any social class". 

A hobby more than a job

There is a general consensus in the Latin American artist community that in the region art is not given as much importance, relevance, value, and therefore remuneration, as it is in other parts of the world. Colombian artist Carlos García develops this point by explaining that Latin America is a region with so many basic needs, such as social security, health, education, housing and even water, which are still today Without being satisfied, art ends up being a pleasure that only a few can afford.. 

"The problem is not a lack of education or a lack of culture. We are a people whose economic situation makes it difficult to meet basic needs. The little money that the town generates, people spend it on trying to meet those needs and not on buying works.”, explains García.

Despite the obvious drawbacks of the economic shortage that is felt and reflected in the region, there is one positive point in the Latin American art scene, and that is that, Since there is no guarantee or incentive of money involved, artistic production is more authentic, disinterested, y part. 

“There is not much money and the sales market is limited, making it difficult for an artist to live off of that alone. This creates an art scene where, Since there is not so much money involved, there is more independence in creating,” explains the Buenos Aires artist Oyuela, who believes that art should not be crossed by the conversation of the market and money, and highlights: “The interesting thing about the situation of art in our region is that, through this, Worlds are created that have a lot to do with friendship and doing, and not so much with money and sales.". 

In short, when talking about the reality of art in Latin America, it can be said that it abounds, and even overflows, in terms of proposals, talent and originality. When talking about Latin America, we are talking about a region where global and local trends converge, and where the lack of money forces - with all the good and bad that this means - the artist to dedicate himself to the craft from a purer and more disinterested place. Art in Latin America, therefore, ends up being a space where human values ​​and virtues such as solidarity and the dissemination of social problems come into play. A world in which creativity, love and protest are exercised..