Latin America and the Caribbean

In 2017, a pilot survey of contemporary art collections in Argentinian museums was carried out by ICCROM, in collaboration with the Argentinian Ministry of Culture (Dirección Nacional de Bienes y Sitios Culturales – DNBSC). This survey forms the basis of ICCROM's 2020/2021 agenda to assess needs and improve the conservation and management of contemporary art collections at the regional level in...

A fire, a flood, a storm surge. A hail of bullets, or an exploding projectile. Collateral and deliberate damage. All these pose an immediate threat to people and heritage, whether monumental building, tangible cultural object or intangible cultural custom. In an emergency, both life and way of life require fast-responding expertise. From Monday 11 November to Friday 06 December 2019, international...

Twelve new members have been elected to serve in the ICCROM Council during the period of 2019-2023. We extend our congratulations to all the elected members and look forward to working closely with our newly formed Council.

On Friday 25 October 2019 ICCROM received the visit of the Ambassador of Costa Rica H.E. Ronald Flores, Ms Carla Sierra Zúñiga, Counsellor, Cultural Affairs, and Ms Sofia Soto Maffioli, Director, Museo de Arte Costarricense.

On Friday 25 October 2019 ICCROM received the visit of H.E. Carlos García de Alba, Ambassador, Mexico.

ICCROM is pleased to announce the adhesion of Costa Rica as a Member State. The accession of Costa Rica brings the number of ICCROM Member States to 137. ICCROM welcomes Costa Rica into its community of Member States and looks forward to future collaboration.

Around 500 professionals and students from the heritage sector and beyond came together at Brazil’s National History Museum to participate in the international seminar Heritage on fire: who’s next? - Fire risk management for cultural heritage (26-28 June, Rio de Janeiro), which addressed the pressing issue of how to effectively reduce cultural heritage losses to fire.

Fire is a major hazard affecting cultural heritage assets around the world. Although it may seem a ‘rare event’ from a single institution’s perspective, large fires can become routine when considering the total heritage of a nation. Furthermore, their impact is typically catastrophic, causing total or almost total loss in the affected cultural property.

Alejandro Flores (born 1940 in Guatemala) attended the ICCROM Architectural Conservation course in 1971. He shared this extraordinary experience with Roberto Marta†, Gaël de Guichen, and Jukka Jokilehto, with whom he remained friends for almost half a century. Alejandro passed away on 16 February 2019.

On 22 November, H.E. Gloria Isabel Ramírez Ríos, Ambassador of Colombia, visited ICCROM.