Activities
Podemos Curar
The working title Podemos curar – We Can Heal speaks of a shared process of healing — across cultural, political, and thematic boundaries. In the mountains between Pico Cristóbal Colón and Pico Guardián, near Lake Naboba, the wreckage of an aluminum helicopter has lain since 1974. The metal is cut into pieces and carried out of the highlands on foot over several days — an act that is both physically demanding and symbolically powerful.
Photos: Nora Ruzsics
Two years of preparation led to this mission.
Gunzareiman Villafaña Torres and Amado Villafaña Chaparro, coordinators of the Arhuaco, realized it together with the traditional authorities and Mamus of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
On February 7, 2026, the international team sets out for Nabusimake: Emmerich Weissenberger (artistic concept), Nora Ruzsics, Seykugumu Garavito Torres, Camilo Mosquera Mejía and Liberman Arango (camera), Dilia Villafaña Torres (sound), as well as Gonzalo Rioseco, Hernando Barragán, Clark Shimeall and Jonathan Dabbs (technical team). The project is supported by numerous Arhuaco women and men and accompanied by Mamu Rogelio and other Mamus.In Santa Marta, the aluminum fragments undergo a second transformation: they become a social sculpture made of driftwood in the form of a lemniscate — a symbol of continuity and interconnectedness — as well as a monumental 20 × 10 meter “Mural Social.”Under the artistic direction of Emmerich Weissenberger, young Arhuaco work together with Colombian and international art students to realize the project.
Thus, “Podemos curar – We Can Heal” becomes a collective and solidarity-based act — a visible sign of responsibility, remembrance, and cultural renewal.
UrbanGreen IV
Cooperación – Artembassy – Fundación las Mercedes – Universidad Javeriana
JARDINES VOLADORES
Zepelin art installation and its staging.
This is an art installation by ArtEmbassy and Facultad de Estudios Ambientales y Rurales as part of UrbanGreen, which is part of the Bogota Biennale BOG 25 in the main public square of the Universidad Javeriana. The 7-meter-high zeppelin filled with helium and hanging plants, a real garden of various types of Bromelia, tells of the distant relationship between humans and nature, their nature. In a positive and beautiful setting, visitors are moved and touched! The zeppelin is held by Gunza Villafaña, an Aruaca artist and filmmaker, in her white traditional dress, and the team.
The music composition was created especially by the young composer Johannes Strigl to accompany the ascending Jardines voladores. Many white flags dance from science students and the audience moves towards the zeppelin and gives it a blessing.
The singer David Cristancho sings powerfully and longingly about the jardines and perhaps also the women in them, drawing the many spectators into our joint work with their hearts.
Jardines voladores artistic director: Emmerich Weissemberger
Production: Prof. Carlos Devia
Media Technical Coordination: Lukas Strigl
Cooperation between ArtEmbassy the Lasmercedes Foundation and Javeriana University.
Contributors:
Las Mercedes foundation:
Ronny Quimbayo ( Scientist, media )
Flor Vaca ( Administration)
Jaime Eraso (Administration)
Juan Camilo Eraso ( Administration )
De ArtEmbassy:
Nora Ruzsics ( norarufilm)
Johannes Strigl ( composer)
David Cristancho Rojas (Singer)
A happening between heaven and earth: an art show with Zeppelin, accompanied by sounds. A space forencounter, sound, and visual experience.
FESTiVAL
The Las Mercedes initiative combines environmental conservation, art, and community empowerment to protect the Tropical Dry Forest, the Magdalena River and its tributaries in Magdalena Medio, as well as land areas in the Sierra Nevada and La Guajira. Since 2023, the annual festival *Sumerced Bosque y Agua* has been celebrated every Earth Day, April 22, in Honda, Tolima, organized by and with the support of Banco de la República. This event brings together stakeholders of the Las Mercedes project, including the Foundation team, artists, farmers, indigenous communities, and the local population, to exchange ideas and promote sustainable practices. Centered on art, dialogue, and collaboration, the festival acts as a vital platform for ecological and cultural preservation in these significant regions.
Su Merced Bosque y Agua festival / April 21-22, 2023 / a film by Anfibia Casa Productora and norarufilm / HD Video / 7’17”
2024
2023
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