Dear Friends,
We are thrilled to welcome our September resident artist, Cecile Chong, to Quito!
Our residency officially commences today, September 1st, with a warm welcome at the La Floresta studio of local artist Ale Moshenek, who has graciously opened up her workspace to host Cecile for the duration of her stay. For Cecile, this month is a true homecoming. She grew up right here in Quito—living near the Hotel Quito and looking out over the dramatic horizon where Pizarro once walked—before moving across the world to study in Macau and eventually basing her practice in New York.
Cecile’s work this month serves as a bridge between these worlds, intertwining personal memories of migration with deep research into ancestral origins. Inspired by the ancient La Cultura Valdivia—the source of the earliest ceramic cultures in the Americas—she will be working with contemporary ceramics, raw materials, and archival forms to explore what it means to look for the “beginning” of things.
Community Workshop & Exhibition: Spacio Cultural & Arte Sana This residency is deeply grounded in community. We are proud to partner with Arte Sana and Spacio Cultural to host a hands-on participatory workshop alongside an official solo exhibition. Local women will come together with Cecile to craft simple fold-up zines sharing their stories of bravery. These works, alongside Cecile’s residency projects, will be featured in her solo exhibition running from September 19 to September 29, 2026 at Spacio Cultural, Sala 2, opening with an official opening reception on Saturday, September 19 at 6:00 PM.The show will feature a shared opening reception on Saturday, September 19 at 6:00 PM, presented alongside a simultaneous exhibition by artist Matías Mendoza in the ground floor gallery.
Final Presentation: Centro Cultural Metropolitano (CCM) Following the exhibition opening, we will wrap up this incredible month on September 24th with a major public final presentation at CCM in partnership with Mujeres Atrevidas. Co-sponsored by the Artesana Foundation, this central gathering will showcase the collective fruits and reflections of the residency, complete with traditional chicha beverages, Mucha Chicha by Sereno Moreno, to celebrate!
We invite you to follow Cecile’s journey with us. Our documentation will take a raw, DIY, documentary-style approach—capturing the true, unpolished essence of her creative process, research days, and community interactions.
Stay tuned for our mid-month update, and follow along weekly on our insta!
Warmly,
Cynthia