Edgar Calel's Maya Rituals Enter Tate Modern via Unprecedented Custody Agreement

Guatemalan Maya Kaqchikel artist Edgar Calel (born 1987, San Juan Comalapa) has placed his ritual-based work 'The Echo of an Ancient Form of Knowledge' under a 13-year custody agreement with Tate Modern in London. Unlike a traditional acquisition, the museum holds only custodianship, not ownership, of both the physical installation—stones bearing fruit and vegetable offerings—and the sacred rituals that activate it. The rituals must be performed exclusively by Calel or designated members of the Kaqchikel community. The work was first presented at Frieze London 2021 and is part of a series using food offerings to ancestors, previously shown at Proyectos Ultravioleta in Guatemala City and the Convento Santo Domingo in Antigua Guatemala. Calel's practice spans performance, video, painting, and installation, exploring how geo-cultural shifts affect collective memory. The custody agreement, involving the artist, the museum, and the Kaqchikel people, aims to demonstrate that Maya culture persists and to disseminate ancestral knowledge.