A Day of Art

Happy Valentines Day everyone!
Yesterday started with a visit with Ivor and Yvonne, to the Academia Nacional de Belles Artes with introductions to the Executive Director, Max and many of the faculty. We sat around a table while greetings were exchanged and Joy showed them the sketches that she had done on this trip. I was so proud of Joy when she explained to them the value to her, as a painter in Nova Scotia, of the opportunity to view and paint another culture. She explained how it helped her see the culture and environment back home through refreshed eyes. She is quite the budding ambassador for Nova Scotia. The faculty of the Academia is obviously dedicated to their students but lack the facilities and equipment to support a student enrolment of 300. We all agreed that an association with a school like NSCAD would have a great impact and be beneficial to both institutions. We viewed a display, in the school´s gallery, of student work made completely from recycled material. Ivor sponsors an annual competition among the students.
After Joy and I went to the Museo de Arte Contemporaria and later (after cervasa and ice cream and siesta) we went around the corner to the Nacional Museo de Arte. We had a wonderful guide and the access to the collection has improved greatly since last year. It is housed in a beautiful "colonial" house with and alabaster fountain and stairs in the main courtyard. There is also a new section on contemporary art and we immediately recognized the Mamani mamani because of our meeting with the artist the night before.
In the evening we met Ivor, Yvonne and 2 of the greats of the Bolivian art scene; watercolourist, Mario Conde Cruz and sculptor, Victor Hugo Echeverria, at Villaserena. The restaurant includes a gallery, of course and serves the finest in Bolivian cuisine. We were ably assisted in our selections by Ivor and Yvonne and had the finest wine and absolutely delectable food. That plus the delightful company of Mario and Victor, both charming and interesting gentlemen. Despite the language issues it was marvellous when Joy and Mario started to compare techniques and I couldn´t understand either side of the conversation. Then we managed to get Mario and Victor arguing, good-naturally, over whether painting was more difficult than sculpture.
I was able to ask both of them what was the biggest issue facing the arts in Bolivia. They agreed that the lack of government funding for the arts was the biggest area of complaint, as the available funds are all spent on the promotion of the various festivals and the colourful dances which are the centre-pieces of these events. It is interesting to compare our 2 societies in this regard, as there are galleries all over La Paz and most of the other cities that we have visited, while in Canada where there is some support for the arts from government, we have only one gallery in Halifax plus the one at NSCAD. The evening was thoroughly enjoyable and we owe a huge debt to Ivor and Yvonne for providing us with 2 exciting days which have been the high-light of our trip so far.
Our plans from here are still being formulated. We are unable to get to Aucapata as originally planned, so we have to find an alternative peaceful place for Joy to do some painting. I prepared a list of possible options and asked the dinner table last night for their suggestions. They narrowed the list to 2 places; Samaipata and Sorata. Both have a reputation for being quiet and beautiful, so we may try both.
Off to another gallery for a watercolour show and then the Witches Market for trinkets to bring home.
Jim