- Brief History
- National Symbols
- Festivals
- Museums in Caracas
The process by which Venezuela came into being as a nation can be divided into three stages: discovery, conquest and settlement. The shores of Venezuela were discovered by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage to the New World in 1498. It was his first sighting of the American mainland and such were its natural beauties that he named the new territories the "Land of Grace". His reports of bounties induced the exploration of the Caribbean coast as far as Lake Maracaibo. It was the Italian geographer and navigator, Americo Vespucci, (whose name also came to identify the New World) who named the area "Little Venice", or Venezuela, because of the resemblance of the native stilt houses found on the shores of Lake Maracaibo to the Venetian dwellings of the time.
The 16th Century was a time of exploration and discovery throughout the South American continent. Nueva Cadiz, on the Island of Cubagua, founded in 1516 and later destroyed by an earthquake, was the first city in South America. Soon afterwards the cities of Coro, on the west, and Cumana, on the east, were founded on the mainland. From there, expeditions for the discovery of the territory were conducted under the guidance of the Spanish Crown.
A unique feature in this process was introduced when in 1528 Carlos I of Spain, who was also the Holy Roman Emperor, gave the German banking house of Weiser the right to conquer and settle in the western part of Venezuela. The German mandate, largely ineffective, was terminated in 1546. A more stable and continuous process of settlement began in 1556. This period saw the birth of most of Venezuela's cities. Caracas was founded by Diego de Losada in 1567.
Venezuela's present patterns of settlement were shaped during the process of colonization that characterized the 17th Century.
During the 18th Century Venezuela underwent a process of administrative consolidation. It was in 1777 that the provinces of Venezuela, Nueva Andalucia, Merida, Maracaibo and Guayana were unified in what became known as the Captaincy-General of Venezuela.
By 1786 Caracas became the administrative center of the province and of the ecclesiastical, judicial, military and educational institutions. The province was governed by a representative of the Crown although it benefited from a significant degree of autonomy at the municipal level.
During the over three centuries of Spanish rule Venezuela never attained the very significant economic and political importance of the major vice-royalties upon which Spain relied for the administration of its American provinces. Its mineral riches had not yet been discovered and its agricultural conditions and climate were less attractive than those of other colonized lands. Venezuela's population remained small, with an economy based mainly on a few agricultural crops, extensive cattle raising and a re latively small share of colonial trade.
By the late 18th century, the strong ideological influence of the European "Enlightenment" and of the American and French Revolutions, combined with widespread discontent with the Spanish economic and political regime, gave rise to the independence movement. Indeed, Venezuela was one of the first provinces in the New World to declare itself independent. Napoleon's invasion of Spain and Ferdinand VII's subsequent abdication to the crown precipitated the events.
In 1810 Venezuela formally declared its independence from Spain and in 1811 adopted a republican constitution. However, it was not until 1821, under the leadership of Simón Bolívar, that full independence was achieved following the struggle of the War of Independence.
During this period Venezuela also contributed in a major way to the independence of neighboring countries. The wars caused Venezuela to lose nearly one third of its population. Shared values and interests, strengthened during the war, allowed for the creation of the Gran Colombia, which between 1820 and 1830 united in a federation the present-day nations of Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Venezuela. This union was dissolved in 1830 as a result of a complex process of internal and regional political develo pments. Venezuela then became an independent republic and its first president was Jose Antonio Paez.
The remainder of the 19th Century and the early part of the 20th Century were an era of political unrest and strife, characterized by continuous struggles between the local and central government, among regions and political factions. The Federal War, (1859-1863), was the most devastating of this series of internal struggles.
The Constitution of 1864 established a federal system with provincial autonomy and gave the Republic the name of the United States of Venezuela. The reforms did not, however, guarantee by themselves the desired political stability. Its absence allowed for further deterioration of the economic and social climate, and gave way to a series of repressive administrations, among which that of Juan Vicente Gomez (1908-1935) is to be noted. During his rule the country was unified under a central government and the economy was open to industrialization. The most dramatic and influential change in this regard, as it later became the basis for Venezuela's modern economy, was the emergence and development of the oil industry. The earliest oil concessions were granted in the 1910's with the first substantial quantities of oil being exported in the early 1920's.
Venezuela's transition to a modern democracy was long and difficult. It was not until 1947 that the first direct popular election of a Venezuelan president, Romulo Gallegos, a renowned novelist and candidate of the Democratic Action Party (Accion Democratica), took place, thereby leaving behind for good the system of indirect elections that had prevailed since the beginning of the Republic.
The Gallegos government, however, was shortlived. In November 1948, only nine months after he had taken office, a military coup overthrew Gallegos in what, again, can be characterized as a strong resistance by certain sectors of the Venezuelan society of the time to the imperatives of political modernization.
A period of repressive military rule followed until 1958, when a widespread popular revolt reinstated democracy. The overthrow of the Perez Jimenez dictatorship and the popular election of Romulo Betancourt as President turned a new leaf in Venezuela's history and politics, ushering a period of democratic rule which continues to this day.
Taken from the publication Venezuelan Arts and Literature, published by the Embassy of Venezuela, Washington DC. Reproduction for commercial purposes is prohibited
The story of the flag
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1806 This is the flag that is placed on the mast of Francisco de Miranda's ship Capitana Leandra on May 1806, when he returns to Venezuela in his plight for the country's freedom from Spain. It is the same flag that he later hoists in the fort San Pedro de la Vela , in Coro |
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1811 After the proclamation of Independence, Venezuela keeps the three bands of colour that Miranda designed but adds the seal with the figure of a native indian on the yellow band. |
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Flag of the Federal Government Of Pampatar 1817 On the yellow band which is the widest, seven blue stars are placed as symbol of the seven provinces that declare themselves free in 1811; Caracas, Cumaná, Barinas, Barcelona, Margarita, Mérida and Trujillo. |
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Flag of the Federal Government of Angostura 1817 The Congress of Angostura establishes in 1817 that an eigth star be added, as symbol of the recently freed province of Guayana. |
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1936 It is decided that the bands of colour be the same width, and the Coat of Arms be placed on the upper left hand corner. The Coat of Arms is partitioned into three sections: yellow, blue, and red. The red section shows a sheaf of wheat, symbolizing the union of the Venezuelan States. The yellow section has two crossed swords and two flags entwined by a laurel wreath, as an emblem of victory; the third section occupying the entire lower half of the emblem, contains an indomitable white horse, the symbol of freedom and independence. The cornucopias and a ribbon with the colours of the flag uniting the laurel and olive branches bears the following inscription: "República de Venezuela; Independencia, 19 de abril de 1810; Federación, 20 de febrero de 1859." |
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Flag of the Federation of Coro Once again, the flag of Pampatar of 1817 is adopted in 1859, this time with equal band widths and 7 blue stars, simbolizing the provinces that made up the Venezuelan Confederation in 1811. |
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1863 For the first time the stars are white and are placed in the centre forming a circle. |
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Flag of Venezuela / Barinas 1863 The stars return to the yellow band, but this time there are twenty of them, representing the twenty provinces that come together to the Venezuelan Federation in 1863. |
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1905 The flag of 1863 is retaken with white stars representing the provinces of the Confederation of 1811 |
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1930 The design that becomes the foundation of our flag today. The shield is incorporated in 1954 |
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1954 The shield is incorporated in February 17, 1954 |
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2006 The Venezuelan National Assembly approved a law that alters the National Flag, the National Anthem and the National Coat of Arms of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, by modifying the direction and position of the horse that appears in the bottom quarter of the Coat of Arms and incorporates an eighth star on the National Flag. |
Carnival
Probably the most celebrated event of them all, Carnival takes place during the month of February, forty days before Good Friday,but has no fixed date because Easter is a floating holiday. Carnival has existed in Venezuela since the colonial period, and was much celebrated in Caracas. Today, however, Carnival has lost its importance in the major cities, and is taken more seriously in the coastal towns, and other provinces, especially in El Callao.
El Callao was founded in 1853 with the name of Caratal. It is a town of multicultural history, where many Europeans would try their luck in their search of gold and other vast riches this area offered. It was the mixture of Englishmen, Americans and Frenchmen, and their cultures, that brought as a consequence the version of Carnival that is celebrated in this town. Carnival became a moment in which people could forget their racial, social and herichal differences. The blacks that were brought to the country as slaves have contributed enormously to this festival, since this was also an opportunity for them not to be belittled, and and they could behave any way they wished, and pray any way they wanted.
By 1925 the people of El Callao treated this festivity as an important event in their yearly calendar, and preparations began early. Costumes were ordered from an English shop called Weldon's which arrived in great bulks through the postal system of Ciudad Bolívar. Funnily enough, it was the blacks of El Callao that would order these costumes, as they liked to dress up as queens, ladies of honour, court jesters and the like. Embroidered fabrics, lavish silks and other decorations were also ordered for this event. Because of the proximity of the Caribbean islands, traditions such as the calypso from Trinidad and the laborious dresses of the women of Guadalupe and Martinique became part of the show as well.
It is important to note that Carnival as a celebration is known for its devils and not its other components, which characterize the region it is celebrated in. The masks that the devils wear and their impulsive personality are the trade marks of these festivities.
Carnival in El Callao begins forty days before Good Friday.
Los Tambores de Barlovento
The Drums of Barlovento are celebrated at the beginning of the rain season in March, near Corpus Christi, in Barlovento, Miranda state. This area comprises the towns Curiepe, Higuerote, Caucagua, Tacarigua and others where there is a large black population due to the coffee and banana plantations that existed there in the colonial period. Thus, this is an Afro-Caribbean tradition in which the drums are the main theme complemented by various other wooden instruments, mostly of African origin.
La Paradura del Niño
In the Andean region of Táchira, Mérida and Trujillo, this is a celebration around the 6th of January, focussing on Jesus as a child. It is a procession in which the Baby in its manger is placed on a large handkerchief and every corner is held by a person who has a candle in his hands. He is paraded around the town from house to house and a drink is offered to the people who carry him. The people in the niño's procession pray for him, and themselves.
Los Diablos de Yare
Los Diablos de Yare is celebrated in the main cities of the Federal District, Aragua state, Miranda state, and Cojedes state. This is a carnivalesque celebration, in which devils with many horns and different human or animal faces parade around the town, to arrive at the main church. These devils are paying penance, and the amount of horns show the many sins they are paying for. Just in the same way as this celebration took place in 16th Century Spain, so it was taken to its colonies, such as Venezuela. The people follow them to their destination, and a great party begins. This celebration occurs during Corpus Christi.
La Cruz de Mayo
This religious act is in the name of the Holy Cross. Every cross found in public places in the smaller towns and provinces is decorated with flowers on the third of May. The people of these towns light candles and take them to the cross with offerings and a wish. The celebration that follows varies according to the town's traditions.
Semana Santa / Easter
Easter is a Catholic festival, but it has become a holiday around most of the world. It begins forty days after Carnival, so its date oscilates between March and April, and would officially begin on Good Friday. On Palm Sunday people visit the church nearest to them to pick up a piece of holy palm. This is probably the only catholic ceremony that has not been altered in Venezuela, and would therefore need no explanation. In just the same way as catholics in the US fast on certain days, and pray on others, Venezuelans would also be doing the same things. The official religion of the country is, after all, Catholisism, even though people do not attend church on Sundays as often as in Spain
The National Gallery of Art, the museum of Venezuelan art, has a permanent collection of more than four thousand artworks, comprising more than four centuries of art history in the country. The aboriginal art of the Pre-Hispanic period, the anonymous painters and the portrait painters of the Colonial period, the masters of the nineteenth century academic painting, the artists that renewed Venezuelan paintings at the start of the twentieth century, known as the Circle of Fine Arts, the initiators of abstra ctionism, the most significant creators of the new figuration, as well as a number of contemporary artists, are all duly represented in this collection.
Founded in 1974, the National Gallery of Art opened its doors in May, 1976. Its present site, in the most important cultural area of Caracas, is an excellent example of the creative talent of one of our best-known architects, Carlos Raul Villanueva. In 1935, during his so-called eclectic period, Villanueva designed this building with its harmonious combination of styles, which may be appreciated in its main facades and its portico. There, among cornices and columns of definite neoclassic influence, thre e sculptural reliefs by Francisco Narvaez, the country's first modernist sculptor, may be seen on the lower wall.
The open spaces of the National Gallery of Art are ideal surroundings for contemplation and aesthetic enjoyment. In the luminous inner patio, art and nature mingle in the most harmonious way. The corridors around the patio are a transition area which prepare the spectator for the quieter atmosphere of the exhibition halls. The continuity of the eleven halls gives a circular character to the development of the open spaces, which intensifies the feeling of serenity in the building itself.
In addition to the exhibition of works in the permanent collection, the National Gallery of Art has temporary exhibitions, which provide visitors with an opportunity to see the most representative works of Venezuelan fine arts, from the aesthetic expressions of our most remote past, to the most innovatory proposals of contemporary art, and provide each exhibition with whatever support is necessary to help understand the different artistic languages and trends that have evolved in the course of our history.
The exhibitions are only one of the many activities that the National Gallery of Art provides, since it is a permanent cultural center for conferences, seminars, films, concerts and workshops for the aesthetic preparation and enjoyment of adults, young people and children.
In the Conservation area, the National Gallery of Art is responsible for the preservation of a large part of Venezuela's patrimony of art treasures. Strict rules are enforced for their handling and for the control of elements which might harm them. In addition to the works of restoration by specialists from the Conservation Department, an advisory service is provided for students sent there by universities and other cultural institutions.
In an effort to help the development of historical art research in Venezuela, the National Gallery of Art has the support of the National Center for Information and Documentation of the Fine Arts C.I.N.A.P. (Centro de Informacion y Documentacion Nacional de Artes Plasticas), which is dedicated to obtaining, processing and facilitating bibliographic and hemerographic material, as well as photographs, cassettes and videos on Venezuelan fine arts. The center provides assistance for the institution's researc h programs, and also attends the general public, and in particular students and professors from universities and other art institutions. The C. I. N.A. P. possesses one of the most important archives on Venezuelan fine arts.
The publications of the National Gallery of Art deal in detail with the institution's research and exhibition programs. They keep accounts of the Gallery's achievements: books, catalogues and brochures, all beautifully printed and designed, complement the exhibitions, and provide comments which add to the existing bibliography of Venezuela fine arts. Printed materials published by the National Gallery of Art also include posters, postcards and diaries in which images of our artistic patrimony are widely distributed.
Educational work is an important part of the activities of the National Art Gallery, which promotes and supports the contact of the visitor with the works of art, organizing guided tours, workshops on aesthetic expression and different artistic techniques, offering advice to students and teachers and preparing educational materials adopted to the needs of the public.
In 1990 the National Gallery of Art became a State Foundation. This has enabled the Institution to stimulate fund-raising as well as sponsorship from other foundations and private enterprise. This provides the Gallery with an opportunity to carry out important projects. As a result of this new policy, between 1990 and 1991 National Gallery of Art added 177 works of art to its permanent collection, which increase Venezuelan art patrimony and, in some cases, fill gaps in the collection.
Guided tours and other educational services should be organized in advance, by appointment, through the Education Department. Catalogues, brochures and other publications are sold at the bookshop on the portico.
National Gallery of Art
Galería de Arte Nacional
POBA International, 539
P.O. Box 02-5255
Miami, Florida 33102-5255
The Caracas Museum of Fine Arts is the most "encyclopedic" art museum which it could be said is most committed to giving a general view of art history. It was founded in 1917 as the first art museum in the country and started out with a heterogeneous collection which today includes important works from different periods, from Egyptian reliefs to contemporary sculpture; from Chinese porcelain to drawings, prints and photographs; from European, medieval and modern art to Latin American paintings and sculptu res.
The Museum of Fine Arts has been defined as a museum of international art, with an emphasis on Latin American art. Several Latin American artistic trends and movements are represented in this collection: Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, the great masters of Mexican muralism; Wifredo Lam, Rufino Tamayo, both artists who looked at our ancestral images; the poetic landscapes of Armando Reverón. Contemporary expressions are also represented: Joaquín Torres García's sensitive abstraction and Marcelo Bonevardi's and Gonzalo Fonseca's incorporation of sacred subjects alternate with the strict constructivism of Edgar Negret and the kinetism of Jesus Soto and Carlos Cruz-Diez.
The wealth and variety of the collections in the Museum of Fine Arts made it necessary to set up a team of specialized researchers, and it is the only Venezuelan museum with a Restoration Department.
The exhibition areas of the Museum of Fine Arts have grown, making good use of the potential of the building. In 1989 the Department of Drawings, Prints and Photographs was set up, where researchers and university students have access to the works on paper in the Collection. In 1990, a permanent exhibition of Egyptian art was opened, exhibition on four of the access ramps; in 1991 the sixth floor was prepared for the Sculpture Terrace, and this year the permanent collection of Chinese Porcelain will be pe rmanently installed in the fourth Hall, which has been specially adapted for it. The Museum's Art Library has offered, since 1957, a specialized service for teachers, students and researchers.
The presence of the Museum in the reflexive thinking of fine arts and culture has always been essential, in the research programs and activities which complement each exhibition, and in the meetings held in the Auditorium and in other areas, such as the Experimental Hall or the Sculpture Terrace. Lectures, conferences and seminars on different disciplines such as literature, philosophy, psychology, politics, poetry, architecture, urbanism etc. promote understanding of the fine arts and attract new visitor s to the Museum. Each day, the Museum becomes more of a center for cultural promotion, putting on events such as concerts, theater, dance, etc.
The educational work of the Museum has developed significantly, stimulating knowledge and learning through different activities linked to the exhibitions. Guided tours with complementary workshops, pottery and painting workshops and educational publications such as the study guides and children's guides, bring new generations into direct, palpable contact with art and culture, as one of man's basic needs.
The Museum of Fine Arts has undertaken an intense publishing activity which accompanies and enriches the program of exhibitions. Carefully designed catalogues, posters, postcards and educational booklets provide the general public with information of the Museum's activities, and are useful material for students and researchers.
The Caracas Museum of Fine Art
Plaza de los Museos
Parque Los Caobos
Caracas, 1010 Venezuela
P.O. Box 61018
Fax: (582) 571 0169
Phone: (582) 576 2507
The Sofia lmber Museum of Contemporary Art is a Venezuelan museum which is exclusively dedicated to collecting, preserving and divulging a collection of works by Venezuelan and international contemporary artists. This Collection includes art works produced after the most relevant movements and artists of the second half of our century. The collection is remarkable for its masterpieces by the great creators of contemporary art, both universal and national. It includes works by Picasso, Chagall, Leger, Mo ore, Duchamp, Braque, Calder, Botero, Rauschenberg, Marisol, Borges, Otero, Cruz-Diez and Soto, among others.
Traditionally, museums need a site and a collection before they are founded. None of these conditions was fulfilled when the Sofia Imber Museum of Contemporary Art was founded, which was a unique and unusual phenomena, not just in this country but the world over. We can surely say that the Sofia Imber Museum of Contemporary Art came out of nothing.
In 1971 the Simón Bolívar Center began to build the Central Park Residential Complex in Caracas. In it, a cultural area was contemplated, but at that stage a large museum was out of the question. The project was submitted to the founder of the institution, Sofia Imber, who, without proper premises but in the hope of turning some building into an exhibition hall, created a tiny kunsthalle which, in time, grew in size and in importance.
In 1973 the Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation was created. The first step was to progressively obtain more and more exhibition halls. The premises of the Museum were built in six successive stages. Between 1974 and 1982 it covered six hundred square meters, on different levels, and had large windows which communicated the halls with the inner gardens of the Central Park. The second stage, which started in 1982, was a decisive factor in the consolidation and growth of the institution; the exhibition h alls were enlarged to eight hundred square meters; the offices for employees were also enlarged and a new main entrance connected the Museum with its surroundings. The third stage, which took place in 1986, enabled the exhibition halls to be further enlarged, and the first Picasso Hall in a Latin American museum was opened. Moreover, the Museum today has a sculpture garden, a coffee-shop, permanent quarters for the National Guard, a library, workshops, a dining-room for employees, new vaults, storerooms and workshops for the restoration and preservation of works of art. The exhibition spaces in the Sofia Imber Museum of Contemporary Art are now distributed through 16 interconnected halls.
In 1990, by Decree of the Federal District Government, the original name of the institution, Museum of Contemporary Art, was changed to the Sofia Imber Museum of Contemporary Art.
The exhibition program is an important part of the Museum's many activities. The exhibitions at the Sofia lmber Museum of Contemporary Art include collective exhibitions, both monographical and thematic, and also one-man exhibitions devoted to the works of important and well-known Venezuelan and international artists. Every exhibition is the result of committed, careful planning, research and staging, which always guarantees their high quality.
To complement the exhibitions on the premises, and as part of other autonomous projects, the Museum publishes a series of books, catalogues, monographies on artists, posters, booklets, bulletins, postcards, slides, videos and films, which are prepared, printed and designed with high quality standards.
To accompany the exhibitions, and as a separate activity, the Museum carries out educational plans and programs involving, fundamentally, guided tours, creative workshops, lectures, film-shows and other activities.
In the professional responsibility and earnestness of its exhibitions and programs of activities, the Sofia Imber Museum of Contemporary Art has earned consistent international recognition, which, from the very beginning, involved exchanges with the most important world museums.
The Sofia Imber Public Library has 18,000 books, catalogues and unpublished materials. Its bibliographic wealth and abundance, as well as its ample spaces, make it the most important art-library in Venezuela.
The Sofia Imber Museum of Contemporary Art also offers special services in its art shops, book shop, cafeteria, framing workshop and chocolaterie.
Only a few years after its foundation and the development of its main premises, the Sofia Imber Museum of Contemporary Art promoted the creation of two outer halls for the promotion and diffusion of the arts: the CADAFE hall (East extension) and the IPOSTEL hall (West extension). Nevertheless, the most important off the premises center of activities of the Sofia Imber Museum of Contemporary Art is the new Coro Museum of Art, in the State of Falc´n. It is located in "the Balcony of Bolívar", colonial mansion of great historical and artistic importance.
Another interesting and innovatory program for artistic diffusion that the Sofia lmber Museum of Contemporary Art has developed is the Maccsibus. This bus periodically prepares didactical exhibitions with copies of universally recognized works of art, books, catalogues and videos, accompanied by personnel from the institution; the bus goes to neighborhoods, suburbs, schools and even travels to towns at a considerable distance from the capital.
Sofia Imber Museum of Contemporary Art
Zona Cultural, Parque Central
Caracas, 1 0 1 0 Venezuela
P.O. Box 17093
Fax: (58212) 572 1408
Phone: (58212) 572 5224 - 573 0075
The Alejandro Otero Museum of Visual Arts is the most recent museum to be opened in Caracas. The building is a modern work of architecture, specially designed for exhibitions, covering a built-up area of five thousand meters. The institution has six exhibition halls, a library, shop, lecture room and amphitheater, and possesses three hectares of land on which an Open Air Museum is to be constructed.
The Museum is part of the cultural circuit in the south of the city of Caracas, beside the Poliedro show-center, the Youth Symphony Orchestra "La Rinconada", the Experimental Theater Workshop, and the new site of the Hector Poleo National Workshop for Artistic Techniques. These institutions make up a large and rapidly expanding cultural complex, which is specially dedicated to international artistic exchange. In its architecture, its bold spaces and clear leaning towards the search of new artistic themes, the Alejandro Otero Museum of Visual Arts is undoubtedly the ideal place for young artists to meet and exchange ideas on contemporary works of art.
The Alejandro Otero Museum of Visual Arts is a State Foundation which was set up on the 21 of May, 1990, by Presidential Decree to offer Venezuelans a new cultural option. It is also a posthumous homage to one of Venezuela's greatest contemporary artists - Alejandro Otero.
The institution is more than a museum for mere contemplation. It is an ideal place for the exchange of ideas, for reflection, learning and the divulgation of visual arts. The Museum's Collection is based on a well-defined purchasing policy, in which contemporary works of art, whether national or international, are acquired.
The Alejandro Otero Museum of Visual Arts is particularly interested in the integration of the arts (painting, installations, theater, music, dance, literature, films, videos and new technologies) and also to new proposals for art, both national and international, through the organization of Fairs, Biennials, collective exhibitions and travelling exhibitions, etc. At the same time, one of the principal objectives of the Alejandro Otero Museum of Visual Arts Foundation is the research, study and divulgation of Alejandro Otero's thoughts and works, since it is believed that his artistic ideas reflect the fundamental conflicts and questions of contemporary art. In a relatively short time, the Museum has become an important part of cultural life for the inhabitants of Caracas.
The Alejandro Otero Museum of Visual Arts provides the community with continuous, direct access to twentieth century art forms, in an ambitious educational program that includes guided tours, workshops, courses, lectures and travelling exhibitions.
At the same time, the Museum has undertaken an important publishing plan that includes the publication of catalogues for exhibitions, children's booklets, educational guides, books on art and a collection specially devoted to museum studies.
The Museum promotes the permanent exchange of artistic experiences, inviting international artists into its extension programs. The guest artists join in on a variety of activities such as lectures, workshops and seminars with their Venezuelan counterparts.
The Alejandro Otero Museum of Visual Art
Zona Cultural La Rinconada, Caracas
Fax: (582) 681 1651
Phone: (582) 606 6702 - 606 6703