The Custodio García Rovira Museum of Fine Arts and House of Culture will open its doors on Friday, September 5, at 6:30 p.m. to kick off the first edition of the Aurora Awards, an initiative that seeks to recognize the creativity, discipline, and commitment of fine arts students from the Institute for Regional Outreach and Distance Education (IPRED) at the Industrial University of Santander (UIS).
The exhibition is the result of a proposal by two students who, convinced of the value of their peers and collective work, decided to create a space to showcase artists in training within the cultural circuit of Bucaramanga. The event is part of the 50th anniversary of the Museum of Fine Arts and the Salas Abiertas 2025 program.
The director of the Aurora Awards, Nathalie Delgado Rivas, explained that this new venue “was created as a space to recognize and showcase the creativity and artistic efforts of UIS fine arts students. It seeks to celebrate the dedication and diversity of proposals that emerge within our student community, promoting dialogue and the projection of the arts”.
For his part, the curator of the exhibition, B. Marcell Bohórquez Gualdrón, highlighted the transformative nature of the initiative: “Aurora is a cry for existence and belonging in the art world. In this space, students become creators of their own artistic future. Each work is a testimony to the search for identity and personal expression of those who wish to leave their mark on the artistic landscape.”
The jury for this first edition will be led by Maestro Alberto Borja, who will select the 10 winners of the exhibition. The exhibition will remain open until September 26, when the closing ceremony and awards gala will be held.
More than a competition, the Aurora Awards are presented as a platform to promote and showcase students, offering them the opportunity to share their first steps in professional art with the public, strengthen the regional cultural circuit, and reaffirm that, in the words of the curator, “being an artist is an exercise in resistance.”
