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This year the awards’ selection was the responsibility of two world-acclaimed experts in Latin American Art — artist, architect and writer Felix Angel, known also for his tenure as the curator of the Cultural Center of the Interamerican Development Bank, and Shira M. Goldman, an arts professor at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). The awards jury for 2004 included Dominican artist Thimo Pimentel, who first became known in 1967 when he won a drawing award in the second E. Leon Jimenes contest. The jurors appraised even more diversity in art, thereby stimulat- ing dialogue between the modern and the contemporary, the theme of this year’s event. To wit, video artists have been invited to participate for the first time.

With the philosophy that by promoting art a better nation is fostered, E. Leon Jimenes has supported artists through the cash prizes that come with the contest and with their endorsement. Starting with an award of RD$4,700 in 1964, 40 years later, the award purse held RD$1,250,000 in prizes, with a participation of 684 works. Nevertheless, the challenge of being touted as a new talent to the international critics from a forum in their own country is what has most attracted the participation of the local up-and-comers.

This attitude is nothing new. In retrospect, a contest that spans 40 years and 20 award editions can easily look back and see how its winners have become today’s great masters on the national arts scene. The winners in 2004 will be added to the wealth of 145 works previously selected, which can be enjoyed as part of the E. Leon Jimenes Collection at the Genesis and Evolution hall, a space of 900 square meters located on the second floor of the Centro Leon. The museum is a veritable showcase of the history of the arts in the Dominican Republic from 1889 to present. As such, the collected works made up by the award winners of the various categories in the E. Leon Jimenes Art Contest are poised to transcend all time.

“The Centro Leon is a space conceived for creativity, research, encounters and for the enjoyment of all people — Dominicans and foreigners alike. Its mission is to preserve, strengthen and disseminate the multiple values and elements that come together in the art and culture of the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean.”

 

 


The XX Art Contest in figures:

Participating artists: 228
Participating works: 684
Artists chosen: 72
Works chosen: 86
Photography: 33
Paintings: 24
Drawings: 11
Installation art: 7
Sculptures: 5
Video art: 2
Ceramics: 1
Engravings: 1
Combined works: 2



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