T​​his Summer, we held our annual CBAT Residence Program fundraiser in London. The event was conducted privately and outdoors, in accordance with the government restrictions related to coronavirus, with the attendance of guests that included British, Latin American and Bolivian audiences; among them art curators from the National Portrait Gallery, Gasworks and representatives from SDCELAR of the British Museum. It was really nice to finally meet up again after all the lockdowns!.​​​​​​​

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The main part of the program was an exhibition in tribute to the artist Roberto Valcárcel highlighting some of his works of art, kindly loaned by British curator and art collector Patricia Tordoir; among them was one of his famous Dynamite Archangels from a series created between 1985 and 1995. The exhibition included a batch of serigraphs by other prominent Bolivian artists Ángeles Fabbri, Gil Imana, Cecilia Lampo, Gastón Ugalde, as well as a serigraphy of Valcárcel himself, all generously donated by Nora Claros and her daughter Tanaz de Campero for auction.  In addition the Bolivian pianist Marco Perez delighted the audience with traditional musical pieces.  Included in the auction was an art piece titled Amaya, by Afro-Bolivian plastic artist Sharon Peréz, who dedicates her artistic work to making Afro-Bolivian culture visible through portraits of Afro-Bolivians turned into works of art using alternative supports such as metal applied to old and aged wood, doors, windows.  Sharon has been invited as an artist in residence at SDCELAR of the British Museum, making her the first Bolivian artist to carry out a research residency.

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As part of the event’s program, there was also a visual presentation of a series of photographs curated by photographer Unterladstatter. The photographs were based on the theme of the Bolivian threatened ecosystems from the Amazon to the Andes, and included dramatic scenes of Chiquitano forest burning, of volunteer firefighters, as well as of the Andean mountains, Amazonian landscapes and wildlife of the country.