The 3,800-mile distance between Milton and Peru shrunk last Friday as students, families and faculty gathered in the Art and Media Center to celebrate Peruvian culture, food and music. Machu Picchu Restaurant served authentic food, and acclaimed ensemble Inca Son performed.
Presenters included Head of School Todd Bland, artist Nora Valdez, and noted Harvard scholar José Falconi. Nora Valdez is an Argentine-born artist whose sculptures and installations have been exhibited all over the world. José Falconi is long-time curator of the Latino and Latin American Art Forum of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University. Mr. Bland spoke of his summer trip in 2011, when he and son Nick ’13 retraced the steps of Hiram Bingham, Mr. Bland’s great-grandfather. Mr. Bingham was an academic and an explorer who made public the existence of the Incan city and Quechua citadel of Machu Picchu, Peru, in 1911.
Milton’s Latino Association and the Nesto Gallery co-hosted the festive evening. On exhibit at the Nesto Gallery is Connections/Conexiónes, which brings together the work of local sculptors and notable Peruvian artists. This artists’ collaboration is part of a future show,Visions/Visiónes, which will exhibit in the Qorinkancha Museum at the Convent of Santo Domingo in Cusco, Peru. Connections/Conexiónes features pieces inspired by a confluence of cultures.
