Art in the Open Air

Lately there is art everywhere - and this past weekend art was in the open air. It was fabulous. I traveled with Hugo and his artists friends to Cajabamba, the birthtown of the famous Peruvian artist Jose Sabogal. We stayed in an awful hotel (selection for hotels is slim in Cajabamba), but had a wonderful time.

Cajabamba organized a full day of open air painting competition, where artists from all over the country invaded the small town to turn Cajabamba into an art haven. The artists had 8 hours to create a painting of a little piece of Cajabamba. After Hugo finished his painting early in the morning we ventured out to visit the other artists´ work. It was amazing that at the end of a dirt road, the top of a curvy path, alongside adobe houses...there was an artist. They were everywhere. And they weren´t alone - children, adults, animals gathered round to witness art coming alive. Can you imagine 300 artists transforming a town of less than 5,000 people into artist´s headquarters?

We observed the paintings the next day as they were all placed in an elementary school for preparation for the exposition. I was blown away at the talent and diversity in combining colors and artistic elements. In the end neither Hugo nor his friends took first or second or even third place. But we came back to Cajamarca on a broken bus (literally it broke down in the middle of the road) with the unique experience of sharing art with the small town of Cajabamba.