This workshop accompanies the exhibition From the Andes to the Caribbean: American Art from the Spanish Empire, which invites viewers to investigate the complicated relationship between American art and Spanish imperialism. The exhibition is on view through July 30, 2023.

Join fourth-generation Quechua retablos artist Zuly Palomino Jimenez to learn about the history and material significance of this traditional folk art form and to create your own intricately decorated potato-plaster sculpture of a mask—an important cultural element of the Carnival season in Andean Peru—that will fit into a retablo box you’ll be able to paint.

Note: This is a two-part workshop, taking place on Sunday, March 19 and Sunday, March 26. On both dates, there will be a session offered in English and a session in Spanish. It is necessary to attend both dates to complete the project. On March 19, participants will learn about the retablo tradition, model the potato-plaster mask sculpture, and decorate the surrounding box; on March 26, they will paint the mask and assemble their retablos.