Profile
Ticio Escobar is a curator and art historian based in Paraguay. As the founder and former Director of Visual Arts at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (Museo del Barro) in Asunción, his practice focuses on modern and contemporary Latin American art, with a commitment to recognizing indigenous rights.In 1979, Escobar established the Museo del Barro, a non-profit, privately-funded effort seeking to preserve and promote Paraguayan vernacular culture. That same year, he founded the Indigenous Art Museum using pieces from his personal collection and still directs the museum today. His advocacy for indigenous populations extends beyond their artistic production; Escobar supports their fight for legal status and land rights alongside other activists. He criticizes structures that fail to appreciate self-taught indigenous artists, calling for a shift in the cultural infrastructure throughout Latin America. His writing and curatorial projects explore themes of identity, indigeneity, and cultural hybridity in Paraguayan and Latin American art. By organizing major exhibitions and contributing critical texts to catalogs and publications, he facilitates essential conversations, forges connections, and impacts new perspectives across borders.
