Centro Leon - Santiago, Dominican Republic

The Cultural Center Eduardo León Jimenes (Centro León) is a world-class institution with an impressive museum collection of  Dominican art from the 20th and 21st century.  It was founded on October 3, 2003.

Mission
"Its mission is to develop creativity through research, protection, exhibition and diffusion of Dominican artistic and cultural undertakings, and of everything that contributes to the conformation of a more transcendent values sensitive society, prouder of itself, and capable of taking active part in the improvement of the quality of life of the nation within the Caribbean context." http://www.fundacionelj.org.do/eng/centro-leon.php 

History

Eduardo León Jimenes opened a cigar factory in the Dominican Republic, which made La Auroras cigars.  His company, known as Grupo Leon Jimenes, began making making cigarettes in 1963.  In 1969 the company forged a relationship with Philip Morris, which owns a minority stake in Empresa León Jimenes and produces Marlboros for the Dominican Republic.

In 1964, Eduardo León Jimenes held an art contest to promote the development of the visual arts and to stimulate creativity in the new generations of artists in the Dominican Republic.

Eduardo León Jimenes Art Contest
This year, 2014, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Eduardo León Jimenes Art Contest.

Learn more about the contest

 The contest has the following objectives:
a) Encourage expressions and contemporary art practices.
b) Strengthening the role of art as a social commentary.
c) Encourage the arts as a tool for critical thinking artists and their audiences.

Location
Centro León
Villa Progreso
Avenida 27 de Febrero 146
Santiago De Los Caballeros
Dominican Republic


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Laboratorio de Arquitectura Dominicana - selected to curate Dominican Republic’s first pavilion for the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale

Image
For the first time in its history, the Dominican Republic has been invited to participate in the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale from June 7 - November 23, 2014. The Biennale is one of the most prestigious cultural events in the world, with over a century promoting new trends in the arts The Laboratorio de Arquitectura Dominican a (LAD) has been appointed curatorial team for the Dominican Republic. Check out their video about the Biennale. LAD LA FERIA CONCRETA from LAD_DR on Vimeo . A photo from the pavillion, with work "Fair Concrete/La Feria Concrete"    PHOTO Courtesy Andrea Avezzù/la Biennale di Venezia To see more coverage, including photos of the Dominican Republic at the Biennale, read Vanessa Quirk's article from ArchDaily here  What a proud moment for the Dominican Republic!
Read more

Commentary on quote from Cuban artist Quisqueya Henriquez regarding Dominican painting

By now, those of you who follow Dominican art will have heard about the controversy surrounding the Dominican Republic's 27th National Bienal for Fine Arts.  I would like to draw your attention to the quote from Quisqueya Henriquez, a Cuban artist and a juror of the Bienal, as reported in the online Dominican newspaper, Diario Libre, on August 20, 2013. "Quisqueya Henríquez manifestó que las propuestas que hicieron los pintores no estaban a la altura de la calidad de los otros lenguajes. " La pintura dominicana, en la actualidad, no merecía un premio, no obstante hubo una cantidad de ellas seleccionadas. Estamos hablando de más de 500 obras, y se hizo una selección de 186", dijo, al dejar claro que ésa fue la valoración que hicieron."  http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=398583&l=1  For those of you who do not understand Spanish, Henriquez said that while over 500 works were submitted for consideration for the 27th Bienal, and 186 were
Read more

IVÁN TOVAR. ANTOLÓGICA - A Coruña, Spain, June 19, 2014 - October 5, 2014

Image
When one mentions the name Ivan Tovar , what comes to mind is a famous Dominican painter who is an enigma . It is unlikely that you will ever run into Tovar at art events in the Dominican Republic.  Instead, he is someone who keeps to himself.  There are stories that if you want to buy a work of art by Tovar, you need to go to his house in the beautiful northern town of Jarabacoa, near Santiago, in the Dominican Republic.  Yet, you cannot just appear at his house; you must call him to make an appointment. Ivan Tovar in his house in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic.  Photo by Frank Pimentel Good luck finding his phone number, but for good reason. Ivan Tovar may be the most successful Dominican surrealist painter to make a name for himself outside of the Dominican Republi c.  His paintings sell for over $50,000USD .  In an artnet search for past auction results, 77 results appear. Who is Ivan Tovar?   Ivan Tovar was born in San Francisco de Macoris, Domincan Republic in 1942.
Read more