Inti Guerrero Appointed Artistic Director Of Bellas Artes Projects

On July 4, an official statement from the Bagac and Manila-based private, non-profit foundation Bellas Artes Projects (BAP) announced the appointment of Inti Guerrero as its new artistic director, succeeding Diana Campbell Betancourt. Guerrero commenced his role on July 1.

As the artistic director of BAP, founded by artist Jam Acuzar, Guerrero will be in charge of the organization’s artist residency program in Bagac, Bataan province, as well as its outpost project in Manila. He commented on his appointment in an email to ArtAsiaPacific: “I am thrilled to be joining Bellas Artes Projects, a unique art organization intertwining art, architecture, heritage, crafts, landscape and diverse rural and urban communities. I look forward to leading the institution’s program and to rethink its role in one of the most vibrant contexts in the world.”

BAP’s Bagac residency at its Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar campus provides resources and space to nurture emerging contemporary artists, and allows them to experiment with traditional craft techniques and artistic practices, thereby preserving these important aspects of Filipino culture. The program has supported artists such as Not Vital, Pawel Althamer and Lucy Raven. The Manila outpost encourages citizens of the capital city to engage with the local art scene, as well as promoting artistic exchange between the Philippines and the rest of the world. 

Currently based in Hong Kong, Colombia-born Inti Guerrero served as chief curator of the 38th EVA International biennial, which runs until July 8 in Limerick City, Ireland. He is also the Estrellita B. Brodsky adjunct curator of Latin American Art at Tate, London, as well as the Latin American desk editor of AAP. He was formerly the associate artistic director and curator at non-profit contemporary art foundation and museum TEOR/éTica in Costa Rica, and the founding director of the now-closed Neptune gallery in Hong Kong.

Guerrero’s predecessor, Brussels-based American curator Diana Campbell Betancourt, will now focus her attention on organizing the 2020 edition of the Dhaka Art Summit, where, concurrent to her position at BAP, she has been the chief curator and artistic director for the past five years. 

Phoebe Tam is an editorial intern of ArtAsiaPacific.

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