This essay, by the organizers of the Primera Bienal Americana de Artes Gráficas [First American Biennial of Graphic Arts] in Colombia in 1971, introduces the most important event of this kind that had ever been organized up until then. During the VI Juegos Panamericanos [VI Pan American Games] (1971) in Cali, the organizing committee launched the Panamericanos Culturales [Cultural Pan American Games], organized by the cultural administrators Amparo Sinisterra de Carvajal and Martha Hoyos de Borrero. One of the main events was the Primera Bienal Americana de Artes Gráficas organized by the Museo de Arte Moderno [Museum of Modern Art] La Tertulia, under the auspices of the firm of Cartón de Colombia S.A. It opened on July 23, 1971, with 567 works by 275 artists. In October of that year, a selection of works from the Biennial was exhibited at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Bogotá. Colombian graphic arts Biennials enjoyed considerable international prestige in the 1970s due to their specificity and to the promotional efforts of the Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia. In 1970, sponsored by the multinational firm of Cartón de Colombia S. A., the Museum presented the Exposición Panamericana de Artes Gráficas [Pan American Exhibition of Graphic Arts] (see “En bienal se convertirá el Salón Panamericano de Artes Gráficas” [The Pan American Salon of Graphic Arts will become a Biennial], doc. no. 1089645) which led to the First Biennial, the first of a total of five (1971, 1973, 1976, 1981, and 1986). The jury for drawing and printmaking consisted of the draftsman and printmaker Rodrigo Abularach (Guatemala); the writer and art critic Marc Berkowitz (Brazil); the painter and draftsman Luis Caballero (Colombia); the painter, draftsman, and printmaker Robert Nelson (USA); and the director of the Instituto de Arte Latinoamericano [Latin American Art Institute] of Santiago, Miguel Rojas Mix (Chile). Members of the jury for graphic design were as follows: the architect and graphic designer Dicken Castro, the draftsman and graphic designer David Consuegra (both Colombians), and the graphic designer John Massey (USA). The prizes for drawing were awarded to Pedro Alcántara (Colombia) and José Balmes (Chile); for printmaking: Roberto De Lamônica (Brazil) and Juan Antonio Roda (Colombia); and for graphic design: Jaime Mendoza (Colombia) and Liliana Porter (Argentina).
