Curatorship:
María del Pilar Rodríguez @mapyrosa

Artists

Analía Quijano
Annette Barcenas
Andrea Vernaza
Carmen Delgado- Amaya
Chini Carles
Lilibeth Bennett
Lucia Philipps
Margaret Amar
Maria Antonia Linares
Poonam Chatlani
Rosemary Norte
Virna Levin @virnalevin

Salón Panamá at UN FAIR 2026 is, like any emerging art exhibition, a gamble. One infused with an extra layer of excitement: it marks the first time an art fair in Bogotá features a guest country of honor. Most of the works on display were created specifically for this show by twelve artists whose emotional drive and aesthetic commitment I identified while reviewing over 30 portfolios during my work with creators in Panama City. Through pure serendipity, this selection ended up being composed entirely of women.

Spanning different ages and stages of training, their diversity offers a sampling of the expressive and sensitive capabilities of contemporary Panamanian art. Furthermore, it confirms that a deeply personal commitment to one’s own vocation is fundamental for the artistic act to deliver moving outcomes.

The exhibition path is polychromatic in every sense: starting with the technical mastery of twenty-somethings Lucía Philipps and Carmen Delgado—the former unafraid of sinister motifs, and the latter inviting a fresh look at the pride of the Mil Polleras in the legendary municipality of Las Tablas.

An exploration where Poonam Chatlani’s technical expertise with emotional self-portraits on vitreous moons, alongside Analía Quijano’s questioning resins, continue to trace a journey where we can delight in a variety of themes and visions: from Virna Levin’s landscapes imbued with the aroma of the Darién gap, to Lilibeth Bennett’s ancestral critique; passing through Chini Carles’s exploration of contemporary stress, to a modern urban portrait of Panama built from vestiges of the Casco Viejo by Margaret Amar. Meanwhile, the poetics of batik from a woman who refuses to surrender either her delicacy or her strength is whispered to us by Andrea Vernaza; contrasting with Annette Bárcenas, a lawyer who resists abandoning fantasy and invites us into other worlds—a counterpoint to the sharp irony of María Antonia Linares, who captivates us with the same delicious disquiet found in the intimate, revealing gazes of Rosemary Norte.

Diverse in many respects, these women are united by an unyielding commitment to their creation. They all share a single thread of resilience: building their artistic practice alongside jobs, studies, family obligations, and multiple occupations, sustaining creation as an act of determination and identity.

This collection of works functions both as a mirror of the country and as a window into its emerging scene. Panama, this time bearing a woman’s name, celebrates the creative power of these artists and the vitality of their languages—inviting us to closely observe the transformative force of art made by women in contemporary Latin America.