The Portable Universe / El Universo en Tus Manos: Thought and Splendor of Indigenous Colombia

The Portable Universe / El Universo en Tus Manos: Thought and Splendor of Indigenous Colombia

Comprising approximately 400 works, including an unprecedented number of loans from the Museo del Oro in Bogota, this groundbreaking exhibition presents the diversity and materiality of ancient Colombian cultures and reframes how we approach ancient Colombian art. With the European conquest, Indigenous cultures and knowledge, based on millennia of intellectual efforts, were disregarded as crude superstition. The Portable Universe is designed to recapture some of that knowledge and to envelop the works with life and meaning, inviting visitors into a cultural dialogue that spans both space and time. The project also draws heavily on contemporary Indigenous understandings to evoke a worldview in which ancient artworks have relevance for today and the future. The curatorial team has been working in close collaboration with the Arhuaco of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, who are supporting and engaged in the project, part of a long-term initiative in fostering cross-cultural dialogue and knowledge exchange.

Comprising approximately 400 works, including an unprecedented number of loans from the Museo del Oro in Bogota, this groundbreaking exhibition presents the diversity and materiality of ancient Colombian cultures and reframes how we approach ancient Colombian art. With the European conquest, Indigenous cultures and knowledge, based on millennia of intellectual efforts, were disregarded as crude superstition. The Portable Universe is designed to recapture some of that knowledge and to envelop the works with life and meaning, inviting visitors into a cultural dialogue that spans both space and time. The project also draws heavily on contemporary Indigenous understandings to evoke a worldview in which ancient artworks have relevance for today and the future. The curatorial team has been working in close collaboration with the Arhuaco of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, who are supporting and engaged in the project, part of a long-term initiative in fostering cross-cultural dialogue and knowledge exchange.

This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Museo del Oro y Unidad de Artes y Otras Colecciones-Banco de la República, Colombia.

The exhibition has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

Generous support is provided by Daniel Greenberg, Susan Steinhauser and The Greenberg Foundation, Bill and Dee Grinnell, and Mechas and Greg Grinnell. Support for LACMA's Art of the Ancient Americas department is provided by the Mellon Foundation and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg.

All exhibitions at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Exhibition Fund. Major annual support is provided by Meredith and David Kaplan, with generous annual funding from Kevin J. Chen, Louise and Brad Edgerton, Edgerton Foundation, Emily and Teddy Greenspan, Mary and Daniel James, Justin Lubliner, Jennifer and Mark McCormick, Kelsey Lee Offield, Koni and Geoff Rich, Jen Rubio and Stewart Butterfield, Lenore and Richard Wayne, and Marietta Wu and Thomas Yamamoto.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Image: House Model of Circular Dwelling, 200 BC–1300 AD, Calima, Gold, 4 1/4 × 4 in. diameter (10.8 × 10.2 cm), Museum Of Fine Arts, Houston, Gift of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. (2001.1366), photograph © The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

• May 29–Oct 2, 2022
• Resnick Pavilion
• Watch the Documentary Video Series

This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Museo del Oro y Unidad de Artes y Otras Colecciones-Banco de la República, Colombia.

The exhibition has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

Generous support is provided by Daniel Greenberg, Susan Steinhauser and The Greenberg Foundation, Bill and Dee Grinnell, and Mechas and Greg Grinnell. Support for LACMA's Art of the Ancient Americas department is provided by the Mellon Foundation and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg.

All exhibitions at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Exhibition Fund. Major annual support is provided by Meredith and David Kaplan, with generous annual funding from Kevin J. Chen, Louise and Brad Edgerton, Edgerton Foundation, Emily and Teddy Greenspan, Mary and Daniel James, Justin Lubliner, Jennifer and Mark McCormick, Kelsey Lee Offield, Koni and Geoff Rich, Jen Rubio and Stewart Butterfield, Lenore and Richard Wayne, and Marietta Wu and Thomas Yamamoto.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Image: House Model of Circular Dwelling, 200 BC–1300 AD, Calima, Gold, 4 1/4 × 4 in. diameter (10.8 × 10.2 cm), Museum Of Fine Arts, Houston, Gift of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. (2001.1366), photograph © The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Unpacking the Universe: The Making of an Exhibition is a documentary series that follows the six-year journey of LACMA’s curators Diana Magaloni and Julia Burtenshaw researching, developing, and installing The Portable Universe / El Universo en tus Manos. The series allows us to be transparent about how the team facilitated a collaborative process with the Arhuaco community in Colombia and curators at different institutions and kept this spirit of collaboration alive in the way the exhibition was installed.

Among many topics, the documentary features scenes of breathtaking landscapes and archeological sites; conversations with Mamo Camilo Izquierdo and Jaison Perez Villafaña regarding the Arhuaco worldview and how this relates to contemporary social and environmental issues; and behind-the-scenes footage of preparing the exhibition, including new initiatives around museum stewardship of Indigenous works. 

Watch Unpacking the Universe: The Making of an Exhibition at www.lacma.org/unpackingtheuniverse