About Us
PRESENTATION
Fundación Engel emerged as an initiative from Claudio Engel and his four children to promote and foster creation, knowledge and reflection around contemporary Chilean and Latin American art. This takes place primarily through the Engel Collection and its future project NuMu, which stands for New Museum of Santiago.
Mission
The Engel Foundation’s mission is to collect, conserve, research, exhibit and publicize contemporary Chilean and Latin American art. Its main objectives include enriching public art heritage, expanding Chile's cultural offering, educating the public and awakening an interest in artists from the region; fostering recognition of cultural and artistic diversity and promoting collaboration and exchange among artists, professionals and international institutions across all fields of culture.
Vision
NuMu looks to promote new readings of contemporary art through its permanent collection and future programming that includes national and international exhibits, educational programs, publications and activities open to the public. These efforts contribute to the preservation of the local collective memory, the promotion of contemporary creation and the expansion of access to the arts.
PILLARS OF THE FOUNDATION
Art
The Foundation is a live, dynamic entity that evolves alongside art and its diverse contemporary manifestations and expressions. The museum is envisaged not only as a space for exhibitions and gatherings but also as a laboratory for innovation and experimentation in the arts.
Education
Culture can only enrich, create connections, challenge and transcend when it is accessible. As such, the mediation of the museum is one of its fundamental pillars. NuMu will offer a wide array of educational programs for children, teens, families, older adults, community organizations, school groups, educators and visitors with various capacities (universal accessibility).
Architecture
The future NuMu aspires to become an architectural point of reference that consolidates the site where it is located (Parque Bicentenario), adds value to our architectural tradition and highlights the geography of the Santiago Valley.
Nature
NuMu considers its surrounding natural environment to be part of the museum. The park was not randomly selected as the site of the museum. The goal is to create a space that dialogs and engages with nature and is conceived on the basis of the existing geography. The design will address the large green space located on the southernmost edge of the park, a privileged area for building connections to geographic landmarks in the Santiago Valley, such as the Mapocho River, Cerro San Cristóbal (San Cristóbal Hill), Cerro Manquehue (Manquehue Hill) and the Andes Mountains.
ABOUT THE FOUNDATION'S PRESIDENT
Claudio Engel is a Chilean businessman and one of the most active and influential collectors in the local arts scene. A son of European immigrants, he is the first generation born in Chile. He inherited his interest in art from his family, which considers education and culture crucial components of integral development. In fact, his first job was as an extra in the Hamburg Opera House at 12 years of age. Since that time, his passion for the different forms of artistic expression has only grown. The Engel Collection and the museum project are a way to express thanks to the country that welcomed his family openly and generously in the 1930s.
![Claudio Engel and Jorge Tacla. New York, 1981.]()
Fundación Engel emerged as an initiative from Claudio Engel and his four children to promote and foster creation, knowledge and reflection around contemporary Chilean and Latin American art. This takes place primarily through the Engel Collection and its future project NuMu, which stands for New Museum of Santiago.
Mission
The Engel Foundation’s mission is to collect, conserve, research, exhibit and publicize contemporary Chilean and Latin American art. Its main objectives include enriching public art heritage, expanding Chile's cultural offering, educating the public and awakening an interest in artists from the region; fostering recognition of cultural and artistic diversity and promoting collaboration and exchange among artists, professionals and international institutions across all fields of culture.
Vision
NuMu looks to promote new readings of contemporary art through its permanent collection and future programming that includes national and international exhibits, educational programs, publications and activities open to the public. These efforts contribute to the preservation of the local collective memory, the promotion of contemporary creation and the expansion of access to the arts.
PILLARS OF THE FOUNDATION
Art
The Foundation is a live, dynamic entity that evolves alongside art and its diverse contemporary manifestations and expressions. The museum is envisaged not only as a space for exhibitions and gatherings but also as a laboratory for innovation and experimentation in the arts.
Education
Culture can only enrich, create connections, challenge and transcend when it is accessible. As such, the mediation of the museum is one of its fundamental pillars. NuMu will offer a wide array of educational programs for children, teens, families, older adults, community organizations, school groups, educators and visitors with various capacities (universal accessibility).
Architecture
The future NuMu aspires to become an architectural point of reference that consolidates the site where it is located (Parque Bicentenario), adds value to our architectural tradition and highlights the geography of the Santiago Valley.
Nature
NuMu considers its surrounding natural environment to be part of the museum. The park was not randomly selected as the site of the museum. The goal is to create a space that dialogs and engages with nature and is conceived on the basis of the existing geography. The design will address the large green space located on the southernmost edge of the park, a privileged area for building connections to geographic landmarks in the Santiago Valley, such as the Mapocho River, Cerro San Cristóbal (San Cristóbal Hill), Cerro Manquehue (Manquehue Hill) and the Andes Mountains.
ABOUT THE FOUNDATION'S PRESIDENT
Claudio Engel is a Chilean businessman and one of the most active and influential collectors in the local arts scene. A son of European immigrants, he is the first generation born in Chile. He inherited his interest in art from his family, which considers education and culture crucial components of integral development. In fact, his first job was as an extra in the Hamburg Opera House at 12 years of age. Since that time, his passion for the different forms of artistic expression has only grown. The Engel Collection and the museum project are a way to express thanks to the country that welcomed his family openly and generously in the 1930s.
His work as the Foundation's president began some time ago, not only by acquiring the Collection but by playing an active role in the international cultural scene. He is a patron of diverse institutions, such as the Internation Board of the Museo del Prado Foundation, CIMAM (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art, affiliated with iCOM), the Teatro Real of Madrid, member of Malba's International Circle, among others. He has traveled the world in recent years visiting artists, collectors, museum directors and international curators to learn more about the challenges, needs and operations of institutions like the project he will implement in Chile, as well as to build partnerships for future collaborative work.
ABOUT THE ENGEL COLLECTION
The Engel Collection has established itself as one of the most important collections on the domestic contemporary art scene, conveying the rich prospects for Chilean art. It consists of numerous works of art, publications and reference files on production in Chile and Latin America, from the last quarter of the 20th century to present day.
The Collection was conceived to be publicly exhibited. In that spirit, the collection brings together a set of works that is representative of the contemporary scene and contains key pieces of our heritage. In most cases, the foundation has had the privilege of working directly with each artist in the collection, searching for important pieces from their life’s work, while also contributing to the understanding of contemporary Chilean art as a whole.
The Collection currently contains more than 900 works of art, created by more than 170 artists in diverse media: painting, sculpture, video-art, photography, large-scale installations, performances, sound art, among others. The Engel Collection aspires to be a bearer of a cultural heritage that narrates not only the particular vision of a given artist but of our collective history and present moment.
ABOUT THE FUTURE MUSEUM
The future NuMu, Nuevo Museo de Santiago, will be located on the southernmost end of Parque Bicentenario and will play a key role in consolidating the park and its borders, which connect it to the city and urban fabric. The first step in the development of the museum consisted in holding the National Competition for Preliminary Projects of Architecture and Landscape Design in the second half of 2020, with the objective of selecting a preliminary project from which to develop the architectural specialties project to materialise the NuMu. After a great convocation of 76 submissions, the outstanding jury selected as the winner the proposal led by architect Cristián Fernández in association with Matías González, Guillermo Bustos, Constanza Hagemann, Nicolás Valdés and Claudio Araya. The project is currently in the approval phase at the Housing Ministry Regional Secretariat and the Municipality of Vitacura, with the hope of opening it for use to the community in the near future.
The museum building is intended to be an architectural point of reference within the context of its surroundings and an icon for the city. It will be visually connected to the site’s topography, integrating adjacent roads and landscapes and offering views of both immediate surroundings and distant geographic features. Considerable importance will be given to the balanced interaction between nature, art and architecture. Its expanse and the spacious recreational areas that surround it will serve as a meeting place that facilitates contemplation in the park and active use by visitors.
Although the exhibit halls and sound art room are the building’s main purpose, the future museum project will also have teaching rooms, an auditorium, a library and an archive room, a café, a restaurant, a gift shop, offices and storage areas.
NuMu will be built to universal accessibility standards and seek to create spaces that encourage communication and invite reflection, creation, discussion and contemplation regarding its permanent and temporary exhibits.
María Pies
Fundación Engel Director
ABOUT THE ENGEL COLLECTION
The Engel Collection has established itself as one of the most important collections on the domestic contemporary art scene, conveying the rich prospects for Chilean art. It consists of numerous works of art, publications and reference files on production in Chile and Latin America, from the last quarter of the 20th century to present day.
The Collection was conceived to be publicly exhibited. In that spirit, the collection brings together a set of works that is representative of the contemporary scene and contains key pieces of our heritage. In most cases, the foundation has had the privilege of working directly with each artist in the collection, searching for important pieces from their life’s work, while also contributing to the understanding of contemporary Chilean art as a whole.
The Collection currently contains more than 900 works of art, created by more than 170 artists in diverse media: painting, sculpture, video-art, photography, large-scale installations, performances, sound art, among others. The Engel Collection aspires to be a bearer of a cultural heritage that narrates not only the particular vision of a given artist but of our collective history and present moment.
ABOUT THE FUTURE MUSEUM
The future NuMu, Nuevo Museo de Santiago, will be located on the southernmost end of Parque Bicentenario and will play a key role in consolidating the park and its borders, which connect it to the city and urban fabric. The first step in the development of the museum consisted in holding the National Competition for Preliminary Projects of Architecture and Landscape Design in the second half of 2020, with the objective of selecting a preliminary project from which to develop the architectural specialties project to materialise the NuMu. After a great convocation of 76 submissions, the outstanding jury selected as the winner the proposal led by architect Cristián Fernández in association with Matías González, Guillermo Bustos, Constanza Hagemann, Nicolás Valdés and Claudio Araya. The project is currently in the approval phase at the Housing Ministry Regional Secretariat and the Municipality of Vitacura, with the hope of opening it for use to the community in the near future.
The museum building is intended to be an architectural point of reference within the context of its surroundings and an icon for the city. It will be visually connected to the site’s topography, integrating adjacent roads and landscapes and offering views of both immediate surroundings and distant geographic features. Considerable importance will be given to the balanced interaction between nature, art and architecture. Its expanse and the spacious recreational areas that surround it will serve as a meeting place that facilitates contemplation in the park and active use by visitors.
Although the exhibit halls and sound art room are the building’s main purpose, the future museum project will also have teaching rooms, an auditorium, a library and an archive room, a café, a restaurant, a gift shop, offices and storage areas.
NuMu will be built to universal accessibility standards and seek to create spaces that encourage communication and invite reflection, creation, discussion and contemplation regarding its permanent and temporary exhibits.
María Pies
Fundación Engel Director
Fundación Engel © 2020
Fundación Engel © 2020