Cultural Development Consulting

IN NOVEMBER 2016, Alasdair Foster was invited as one of two international guests to witness the of launch of ‘Relicarios’, a major new work by the Colombian artist Erika Diettes. This extensive yet intimate installation stood as a memorial for those killed during the multilateral armed conflict in Colombia. The staging of the exhibition in the Museo de Antioquia, Medellín, was impeccable. But the truly remarkable aspect of the event was that the museum flew in two hundred of the bereaved from outlying rural areas and accommodated them close by the museum so that they could spend time privately in the exhibition space before it was opened to the public.

Alasdair Foster was invited to write a short text on the work and on bereavement. The piece, called ‘An Echo in Amber: Grief and the Disappeared’, was read in English and Spanish at an event for the families at which they each received a framed photograph of their reliquary. He subsequently wrote about this experience in ‘Garland’ magazine.

While in Medellín, Dr Foster gave a public lecture: ‘Creating Shared Culture: art and the pro-am’ at the Museo de Antioquia.

Images:

Upper: the installation of Erika Diettes’ ‘Relicarios’ at the Museo de Antioquia 2016
Lower: the bereaved contemplate the relicario created in memory of a loved one during a private viewing for families, prior to the public opening of the exhibition

>