In 2004, the San Juan Biennial of Latin American and Caribbean Engraving (1970-2001), the first and oldest meeting ground for the Latin American graphic arts, became the San Juan Poly/Graphic Triennial: Latin America and the Caribbean. This transformation arose from the necessity to grant greater relevance to contemporary art events. The Triennial, an official event of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, sponsored by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, expands the spectrum of the graphic arts, from the traditional engraving to the more ample concept of polygraphic art, which includes all kinds of mediums and artistic languages. The Triennial seeks to establish and maintain in San Juan a contemporary art event that is significant to the national and international artistic community, and which celebrates and promotes excellence, creativity, diversity, participation and debate. One of its goals is to make Puerto Rico a dynamic cultural bridge between artists and people from the Caribbean, Latin America and the Unites States.
The 2da Trienal Poli/Gráfica de San Juan: América Latina y el Caribe [San Juan Poly/Graphic Triennial: Latin America and the Caribbean] has reinterpreted the notion of the poly/graphic proposed by its first edition in 2004. For this Triennial the poly/graphic unfolds into multiple experimental and marginal, printed and graphic practices, encompassing solo and group exhibitions presenting a diverse range of poly/graphic platforms such as artists’ books, posters, magazines, flyers, billboards, wallpapers as well as a large-scale multipart exhibition. A special focus is given to publications, which are displayed in the reading room at the exhibitions spaces at the old Arsenal de la Marina Española, located in old San Juan.
The people responsible for the creation and organization of the exhibitions include artistic director Adriano Pedrosa, co-curators Julieta González and Jens Hoffmann, and guest curator Beatriz Santiago.
The exhibition opened on April 18 and will run until June 30, 2009 at the Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española (La Puntilla, Old San Juan).
For more information, see http://blog.trienalsanjuan.org/?tag=trienal-san-juan
For a critical review of the Triennial, see http://dondeveoarte.com/?p=317
Image from http://harteuprrp.blogspot.com/2008/11/arte-y-contexto-en-espacio-1414.html
