Ciudad solar: a communitarian, universal city in 1970s Cali

Abstract

In the 1970s—in the historical center of the Colombian city of Cali— there existed an alternative space for coexistence, creation, cinephilia, and art exhibitions, a meeting point for a generation of young people interested in the plastic arts, photography, and watching and making films. Ciudad Solar was formed from the confluence of interests that a group of young people (20 to 26 years old) had in art, culture, and the city; some were united by their association with the political left, and some rejected the academy as a training ground, opting for a self-taught method in fields such as filmmaking, photography, serigraphy, art criticism, and art curating. Viewed in retrospect, Ciudad Solar was an unprecedented experience in the institutional circuit of art and culture in Colombia.