We’ve Been Here All Along: Critical Curating, Indigenous Peoples and Artistic Practice
Lecture by Cristian Vargas Paillahueque, followed by a conversation with Raquel Jimeno Revilla

Cristian Vargas Paillahueque explores different approaches, experiences and debates surrounding contemporary curating and its relationship with Indigenous Peoples, focusing on these communities’ agency in shaping how their heritage is understood and represented. By questioning both the origins of collections and exhibition practices, the lecture considers how different Peoples engage with their heritage and establish the terms on which it is interpreted and shared. It invites reflection on new ways of understanding Indigenous art and curating in dialogue with debates from the past and present.

The lecture will be followed by a conversation with Raquel Jimeno Revilla, who is responsible for the pre-Hispanic and contemporary collections at the Museo de América.

Cristian Vargas Paillahueque is an art historian and curator. He holds a degree in Art Theory and History and a master’s degree in Latin American Studies, and is a PhD candidate in Latin American Studies at the Universidad de Chile. His research focuses on collections, Indigenous heritage, and traditional and contemporary Indigenous art. His curatorial projects include Kalül ñi tukulpan. Memorias del cuerpo mapuche at the Centro Cultural de España in Santiago (2021), Miradas sobre el Wallmapu. Territorios, afueras y disputas at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Chile (2023–2025), and Fugas de lo nuestro. Visualidades indígenas de sur a norte at the Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende (2024). He has served as general coordinator of the catalogue raisonné project at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino (2023–2024) and curator of Vivos y Presentes. Arte de los Pueblos Atacameño/Lickanantay, Mapuche y Rapanui (2025–2026).

Raquel Jimeno Revilla holds a PhD in Languages and Artistic Expressions from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Her professional practice combines cultural management and research, with a particular interest in the intersections between text and image and the study of contemporary visual culture. She has worked at institutions including the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern (IVAM), Tabacalera Promoción del Arte and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS). A member of Spain’s National Corps of Museum Curators since 2021, she is currently based at the Museo de América, where she is responsible for the pre-Hispanic and contemporary collections.

Date and time: November 5, 2026, 5 pm
Location: Sala de la Reina, Museo de América, Madrid
Admission: Free, on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to capacity
Recommended ages: All ages
Language: Spanish
Capacity: 50 people

In collaboration with the Museo de América.

The public program for Seba Calfuqueo’s exhibition CAUTÍN is developed in collaboration with Filmoteca Española, Museo de América, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Centro Cultural de España en Santiago, Cineteca Nacional de Chile and Festival Eñe, with funding from the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cultural y las Artes (FONDART) and with Radio 3 and NUEBO as media partners.