SACO Biennial ended a new edition with 60 thousand visits

SACO Biennial ended a new edition with 60 thousand visits to its exhibition circuit

For three months, SACO1.1 Golpe turned the Antofagasta region into the capital of Latin American art, with exhibitions in various cultural, heritage and urban spaces, as well as walls and terraces.

The event is presented by Escondida | BHP, with financing from the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage through its Support Program for Collaborating Cultural Organizations, and the Government and Regional Council of Antofagasta.

The 2023 edition of the International Biennial of Contemporary Art SACO1.1 Golpe burst onto the cultural scene and captivated the interest of 60,000 people who visited the 15 exhibition spaces spread throughout the Antofagasta region.

The key to achieving this record number, 30 mediators trained by the biennial, who were available at the exhibitions to dialogue with the public about the works of more than 70 national and international artists invited to SACO.

“Thousands of people had the opportunity to reflect on political violence, on how we look at our future and what kind of future we want to build as citizens. If we are not able to understand what happened to us, we will not be able to redefine our history. And it is relevant to do so from a space of dialogue, from art, from that idea of the museum without a museum and with the possibility even of talking with the artists themselves, that has the true value of reunion, especially in times of tension or crisis." said Ricardo Díaz Cortés, Governor of the Antofagasta region.

This interest in the virtuous circle, artist-work-public, is also the essence of school without school. In total, 12 basic and secondary education establishments and 3 regional universities participated in guided tours of the exhibitions in a unique experience around artistic creation, in which 800 students from the region participated.

SACO1.1 Coup in the commemoration of the 50 years of the Coup d'état in Chile, became a great platform for free access to the creations of artists from all over the world under the curatorial line of this edition. “Number is not everything, we are far from quantitative successism. However, the massive demand to experience art in person, the interest and desire that we saw during the last three months, make us grow our wings and confirm that we are on the right path. I said it several times and I will repeat it as many times as necessary - until things change - culture is a right that we must all exercise," added Dagmara Wyskiel, director of SACO.

As in previous editions, the territorial focus was marked by performative and ephemeral actions in the heart of the desert and in the Port of Antofagasta, as well as San Pedro de Atacama, Quillagua and Punta de Rieles in Mejillones.
Mediated exposures

As is tradition, the biennial brought together a diverse group of mediators of all ages, trained to transmit information about the creative process, content and materiality of the works on display. This, through guided tours of this year's exhibitions present at: Melbourne Clark Historical Pier, Huanchaca Ruins Cultural Park, Site of Memory, Former Providencia Political Detention Center, Kidnapping and Torture, Antofagasta Museum, Antofagasta Regional Library, Hall Chela Lira from the Universidad Católica del Norte, Fundación Minera Escondida and the Women's Penitentiary Center. Along with the video art samples available in the Museum of the Sea of the University of Antofagasta and Espacio Fitza, in addition to artistic installations in Espacio Urbano, and works displayed on disused advertising palettes located in the La Chimba sector of Antofagasta and walls of the National Institute of Youth, Liceo Marta Narea Díaz and National Sports Institute, in the center of the city.

Art and circular economy

One of the axes of the biennial is to contribute to the community through values that highlight the circular economy to give a new use to the elements used in the exhibitions. Thus, since 2012, SACO has implemented a sustainable art circulation system with innovative solutions such as the reuse of materials from installations to reduce the environmental impact of its exhibitions and the donation of artists' works to organizations and educational establishments, to relieve the work of linking with the territory.

Thus, SACO will continue next year with its annual school without school program, a new version of the Diploma in Microcuratorship, in addition to the Biennial in the trunk project, until 2025 in its new edition, SACO1.2, the third as an international biennial since the Atacama Desert and for the world.