SOMA: Curatorial and Art Space

SOMA is a space that allows us to reflect and discuss different events in art at national and international level.

• A program for the professional education of artists
• A forum for conferences, discussions, and weekly events
• A summer program for visual artists and curators, conducted in English

Through its three programs, SOMA attempts to collectively analyze the aesthetic, political, and social consequences of art production. With frequent events, many of them in English, it’s also one of the city’s liveliest visual arts forums and exhibition spaces.

Wednesday evening events are often among the most important and well-attended in the city. The name of the organization, not an acronym, came about as follows.

It’s an ancient drug used in parts of India and the Middle East to cause collective hallucinations. It was also the substance supplied to the inhabitants of Brave New World, the Aldous Huxley’s novel. Although it’s not technically an acronym, the organization point out that several acronyms might be appropriate. Among them, the Secretariat for the Organization of Media and Art. The same name was also used for a group therapy designed by Roberto Freire in Brazil, based on the ideas of Wilhelm Reich. Something about the body, for example: soma is the body of a neuron.

Today, it’s not just a space for the exhibition of work from the most innovative and contemporary artists. Since 2009, SOMA has also included a group of collaborators made up of artists, a group of critics, curators, and other professionals from a broad range of cultural fields. Through educational programs, residencies, and conferences, their artistic work is encouraged and visual work is promoted.