Guillermo Kuitca on Buenos Aires’ art scene

How are you involved in the Buenos Aires art scene? 

I am a visual artist with a studio in Buenos Aires, and although I have exhibited very little here, I am still a practicing artist who is fully engaged with the city. In 1991, I founded a studio program − known as Beca Kuitca − to host residencies for young Argentine artists. The program has been in place for 25 years now, and the idea was to open discussion and foster a new generation of artists. From every edition, we receive around 700 proposals from which we select only 20, as this is how many places there are available.

What opportunities does it offer?

It really depends on what you are doing and expecting, where you are coming from, whether you are a visitor, a collector, an artist, etc. From an artist’s point of view, the scene in Buenos Aires is very rich, complex, and vibrant. There is certainly a lack of infrastructure and institutions, but the city is not at all provincial: it is a major cultural and urban hub. For the visitor, Buenos Aires has a lot to offer − gastronomy, architectural beauty, cultural and musical programming. Of course the city exemplifies all the inherent clichés about a Latin American capital. European visitors find it very similar to Europe, but I would not say this is the case. Buenos Aires has its own idiosyncratic flavor. For North American visitors, the city is usually a huge discovery.

What challenges does it face? 

One of the main challenges is to make people develop and sustain projects here. Usually people come and visit; they are extremely excited by what they see and what they could do, but don’t settle. I think there is huge potential in Buenos Aires. What if artists and cultural entrepreneurs would move to places like Buenos Aires and settle? We also need to develop the infrastructures and the know-how in order not to be only a tourist destination, but also a place where things can happen.