The Colombian capital is once again set to turn into a walkable, open-air museum as ARTBO Fin de Semana (ARTBO Weekend) returns for its ninth edition from April 25 to 27. Organized by the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce (CCB), ARTBO Weekend has become a cornerstone of the city’s cultural calendar and a key prelude to the ARTBO International Art Fair held in September.
This year’s edition will feature 86 exhibition spaces, 253 artists, 83 exhibitions, and more than 157 free public events – offering an ambitious scope for audiences and reaffirming Bogotá as a pivotal epicenter for Latin American contemporary art.
Divided into six geographic circuits – Centro Histórico, Macarena, Teusaquillo, Central Chapinero, San Felipe, and Northern Chapinero – the event invites the public to explore galleries, artist-run spaces, and alternative venues with extended opening hours and free guided transportation. In a city as sprawling and eclectic as Bogotá, the curated routes offer not just access, but a sense of discovery across its diverse neighborhoods.
One of this year’s key innovations lies in its expansion beyond the traditional walk-in venues. Pop-up exhibitions in unexpected spaces aim to challenge conventional modes of exhibition and audience engagement. Montenegro Art Projects (MAP) will activate the Casa Lleras Library Museum, and Policroma, an independent gallery from Medellín, brings a regional perspective to the capital.
“Bogotá is not just hosting art – it’s living it,” says María Isabel Rueda, artist and curator of this year’s Intervention exhibition. “We’re moving away from a static presentation and embracing movement, circulation, and conversation as curatorial strategies.”
A flagship initiative of this edition is the Ruta del Libro (Book Route), a curated tour connecting bookstores that specialize in the visual arts with the broader exhibition program. Emerging from the Encuentro Editorial (Editorial Gathering), the route includes stops at Matorral Librería, Garabato Libros, Villegas Editores, NADA, Casa Santo & Seña, and Wilborada 1047, ultimately linking to Corferias, the location of Bogotá’s major conventions and fairs. The initiative consolidates ARTBO’s ongoing investment in expanding the definition of art to include editorial and publishing initiatives.
Similarly, the Ruta Diseño (Design Route) returns for a second year, showcasing the intersection between functional design and contemporary aesthetics. Eight design studios and showrooms – including Verdi, Moblar, Alta Estudio, and Folies – highlight Bogotá’s rising visibility in the global design sphere. “Design is increasingly part of the visual arts conversation in Latin America,” says a program curator. “We’re breaking down the boundaries between the collectible and the functional.”
At the center of the program is the San Francisco Palace, a national neoclassical monument and official headquarters for the weekend. Inside, the palace will host ARTBO Weekend’s three flagship events: Conversaciones (Conversations), the Encuentro Editorial, and the Intervention group exhibition.
The Conversaciones series, curated by Raphael Fonseca, the Latin American art curator at the Denver Art Museum, brings together 20 international and Colombian curators for panel discussions on topics ranging from Indigenous art and performance to new media and Latinx/Latin American intersections. Scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, the talks will offer sign language interpretation, reinforcing the event’s commitment to accessibility.
The Encuentro Editorial, curated by Bogotá-based collective Relámpago, showcases independent publishers working at the intersection of art and literature. In addition to installations and book launches, the space will host open workshops and talks exploring the shifting terrain of art publishing in the region.
Finally, Intervention, a curated group show featuring artists represented by participating galleries, brings a curatorial focus on collectability, accessibility, and artistic process. “My goal,” Rueda says, “is to give visitors a window into the kinds of works being collected in Colombia and to challenge assumptions about what contemporary art can look like here.”
Since its founding in 2017, ARTBO Weekend has served as a gateway to Colombia’s vibrant and resilient art scene – one shaped by history, but leaning boldly into the present. In 2024, the program attracted over 30,000 visitors, with an expanding footprint of 31,858 square meters of exhibition space across the city. This year, organizers hope to surpass those numbers and, more importantly, deepen the public’s engagement with contemporary art.
Whether you’re a seasoned collector, a design aficionado, or a curious passerby, ARTBO Weekend offers something rare: a city – scale immersion into the living, breathing world of Latin American contemporary art – and all of it free of charge.
For more information visit on this three-day event visit: www.artbo.co
and follow the inauguration and gallery happenings with the hashtag #ARTBOfds
