Public Letters and Manifestos in Colombian Art: A Collection of Artistic Protests and Declarations (2000-2019)

This dossier compiles a selection of open letters and public declarations published between 2000 and 2019 on the platform esferapública, showcasing how written statements function as public acts within the Colombian art scene. These documents serve to declare positions, demand responses, and create records of dissent. In December 2001, Fernando Uhía wrote to the Arborizarte program's art committee to protest the rejection of his tree intervention near Corferias, which was deemed insufficiently 'friendly' by the Fundación Corazón Verde board. Artist Antonio Caro declared a personal boycott of the Bogotá Museum of Modern Art in 2003, refusing to participate in its programs. In September 2008, the 'Comando Arte Libre S-11' claimed responsibility for stealing a Goya print from the Fundación Gilberto Alzate Avendaño, using language parodying a historical guerrilla communiqué, which led authorities to investigate artist Lucas Ospina. A 2009 controversy involved Simón Hosie writing an anonymous letter to Beatriz González while posing as a laundress, which she unknowingly included in an exhibition. In 2010, Lorena Espitia withdrew her work from the BBVA New Names Salon, citing damage to the piece and unfair contractual terms shifting costs to artists. A July 2016 letter signed by numerous artists and cultural workers criticized a government tax guide video series for portraying Colombian artists as wealthy, ignorant tax evaders, instead highlighting widespread financial precarity. In November 2018, Mónica Eraso, Ana Karina Moreno, and Ana María Villate staged a dramatic reading based on survey testimonies about harassment and exclusion of women in the art field, juxtaposing historical texts with anonymous accounts. In September 2019, Bernardo Ortiz wrote an open letter after the Centro Colombo Americano destroyed a mural by Lucas Ospina and Powerpaola intended for the 45th National Artists Salon. That same year, in June, Víctor Albarracín criticized Colfuturo's scholarship-loan model for requiring guarantors with property and high incomes, systematically excluding applicants from non-wealthy backgrounds.