 Downtown Puerto Vallarta will come alive with contemporary art May 28 to June 1, 2008, for the first annual “ Puerto Vallarta: Arte Contemporáneo” festival. With the theme Extended Borders: Shifting Cartographies, this unprecedented event will bring international artists together to participate in special exhibitions, public art demonstrations and panel discussions. All of the participating artists have previously exhibited at prestigious museums in Mexico and the USA, many having displayed their work in the famed Whitney Biennial, an established exhibition of contemporary art at New York City’s Whitney Museum of Art.
If you are expecting a traditional gallery experience during the festival, you may be pleasantly surprised. In following established contemporary art trends, the festival will also include a diverse variety of installations in which different disciplines, such as video and live performances, come together. Another significant aspect of the festival is the intercultural discourse that will naturally occur among participants, including artists from both Mexico and Los Angeles. The festival is taking on issues pertinent to both cities, such as immigration, globalization and hybrid identities. Along with the works of art, symposiums and panel discussions will be offered to give attendees a better understanding of contemporary art in general, as well as contemporary architecture, literature and politics. As an outreach feature of the festival, some of the artists will even visit local schools for hands on work with the students, who don’t often have the opportunity to interact with artists of international renown!
 Pilar Perez is the curator of this prestigious event. Highlights of her recent professional experience include being curator of the Morono Kiang Gallery in Los Angeles, curator and organizer of the 6th Annual Mexico City Book Fair, executive director of 826LA (a non-profi t organization supporting 6 to 18 year olds with their creative and expository writing skills) and co-founder of Perceval Press. Perez lived in Vallarta in the sixties, and this project is very personal for her. She is the daughter of Tony Perez, who was involved in Vallarta tourism in the early days. “After my father died, I often dreamed of returning to Vallarta to take up where he left off , but it was never the right time. Now, I feel it is, and I hope I can contribute in some small way to the cultural landscape of this extraordinary place.” Serious art collectors build their travel around collecting. Puerto Vallarta: Arte Contemporáneo will highlight a vast array of quality works with the intention of enticing contemporary art aficionados to include Puerto Vallarta in general and this festival in particular in their future travel plans. Traditionally, the local Art Walk season ended in March or April, but the final Art Walk of the 2007/2008 season will be May 28, which coincides with the first day of the festival. The overlap with “Vallarta Lifestyles’" annual Restaurant Week is quickly turning May into the new “destination” month for Vallarta. For artist biographies and the most current event information, visit www.pvartecontemporaneo.com.
The Venues
The staging area for this festival will be three galleries at the intersection of Guadalupe Sanchez and Leona Vicario in El Centro. Galleries Thierry Blouet Fine Art Collection, Galeria Omar Alonso and Galerie des Artistes are where the primary installation works will be created. While in the area, be sure to request an Art Walk map at any of the aforementioned galleries, since all Art Walk galleries are within walking distance, including The Loft, which is also serving as a business center for the festival:
Galería Arte Latinoamericano
Galería Beatriz Narváez
Galería Corona
Galería Córsica
Galería de Ollas
Galería Jorge Marín
Galería Pacífico
Galería Sergio Bustamante
Galería Uno
Galería Vallarta
Galería 8 y Más
The Loft
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