top of page

"Art will not be beauty
and novelty, but efficiency and agitation."

 – Excerpt from “The Art of Meanings” - León Ferrari, 1968

20091221_ella_235 copy.jpg

Ella Fontanals-Cisneros

About Us

Mission & History

The Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) is a non-profit organization founded in 2002 by Ella Fontanals-Cisneros and her family to foster cultural exchange and enhance the arts. Over the years, CIFO has gained recognition in the international art community for its significant contributions to promoting Latin American contemporary art.

The foundation's mission is to support the advancement of cultural understanding and educational dialogue between Latin American artists and global audiences. CIFO provides a platform for emerging, mid-career, and established Latin American artists through initiatives such as the Grants & Commissions Program, Traveling Exhibitions Program, The CIFO Collection, and various related art and cultural projects both in the U.S. and internationally. Since its inception, CIFO has awarded over $2 million to more than 150 Latin American artists and has showcased their work.

CIFO also serves as the guardian of the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection, one of modern and contemporary art's most significant international collections. Numerous pieces from the EFC Collection have been loaned long-term to prestigious institutions, including Tate Modern in London, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York and Bilbao.

CIFO believes in forging relationships within the art community. We strive to inspire Latin American artists, nurture their creativity, and help them transcend as artists.

At Cifo, we believe in forging relationships within the art community. We strive to inspire Latin American artists, nurture their creativity and help them transcend as artists.

leadership

Board of Directors:

 

Founder and Honorary President 
Ella Fontanals-Cisneros

 

President
Manuel de Santaren

 

Mariela Cisneros-Mestre 

Claudia Cisneros 

Jesús Fuenmayor 

Adriana Gómez 

Marianne Hernández 

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer 

Cuauhtémoc Medina González 

Andreina Pérez-Cisneros 

Gloria Sesana 

Mayi de la Vega 

  • Adriano Pedrosa / Brazil / Curator, art director 

  • Adrienne Samos / Panama / Editor, curator, art critic, translator

  • Alma Ruiz / Guatemala, USA / Curator, professor

  • Ana Rosa Valdez / Ecuador, El Salvador / Curator, critic, editor

  • Berta Sichel / Brazil, Spain / Curator, writer, lecturer 

  • Carlos Garaicoa / Cuba, Spain / Artist 

  • Cecilia Fajardo-Hill / Venezuela, England / Curator, researcher

  • Celia Rodríguez Tejuca/ Cuba, USA / Scholar, researcher

  • Cristina Vives / Cuba / Curator, art critic

  • Elizabeth Cerejido / Cuba, USA / Curator, scholar

  • Elvis Fuentes / Cuba, USA / Curator, writer, professor

  • Eugenio Viola / Italia, Colombia / Curator, art critic 

  • Fernanda Pitta / Brazil / Professor, curator

  • Fernanda Brenner / Brazil / Curator, writer

  • Gabriela Urtiaga / Argentina, USA / Curator

  • Gean Moreno / Miami, USA / Artist, curator, art critic, writer

  • Gilbert Vicario / USA / Curator

  • Gladys Turner Bosso / Panama / Arquitect, curator, cultural manager 

  • Guillermo Santamarina / Mexico / Art critic, curator, artist

  • Gustavo Buntinx / Argentina, Peru / Curator, art critic

  • Hamlet Fernández / Cuba, Brazil / Art critic, professor

  • Isabel García Pérez de Arce / Chile / Artist, curator, researcher, educator

  • Jaime Gili / Venezuela, England / Artist

  • Jesús Fuenmayor / Venezuela, USA / Curator, Professor

  • José Roca / Colombia / Curator, artistic director

  • Juan Canela / Spain, Panama / Curator, writer

  • Kaira Cabañas/ USA / Curator, scholar, writer

  • Liz Munsell / USA / Curator

  • María Iovino / Colombia / Curator, researcher, professor

  • Michy Marxuach / Puerto Rico / Curator, cultural producer

  • Miguel Ángel López / Peru, USA / Curator, writer, researcher

  • Moacir Dos Anjos / Brazil / Curator, writer, researcher

  • Omar López-Chahoud / USA / Curator, educator

  • Oscar Muñoz / Colombia / Artist

  • Oscar Roldán-Alzate / Colombia / Curator, art critic

  • Ramón Castillo / Chile / Curator, scholar

  • Raquel Shwartz / Bolivia / Artist, curator

  • René Francisco Rodríguez / Cuba, Spain / Artist, profesor, curator

  • Roberto Jacoby / Argentina / Artist

  • Rodolfo Kronfle Chambers / Ecuador / Curator, cultural producer

  • Rosina Cazali / Guatemala / Curator, cultural promoter

  • Sharon Lerner / Peru, USA / Curator, art critic, cultural manager

  • Tahía Rivero Ponte / Venezuela / Curator, art critic

  • Taiyana Pimentel / Cuba, Mexico / Curator

  • Viviana Kuri / México / Curator

  • Yoshua Okón / Mexico / Artist

Advisory Committee:

CIFO Grants and Commissions Program:

Team:

 

Executive Director

Susana Fontanals

 

Director of Operations & Collections

Sergio Fontanella

 

Grants & Commissions Coordinator

Ana M. Socarrás Piñón

 

Collections Registrar

Velia Larcinese

 

Social Media Content Specialist

Gabriela Solis

CIFO - Ars Electronica 

  • Jens Hauser / Germany, France / Curator, professor

  • Jose-Carlos Mariategui / Peru, England / Scientist, writer, curator, scholar

  • Maria Fernandez / Nicaragua, USA / Scholar, curator, researcher

  • Maria José Sanchez Varela Barajas / Mexico, Australia / Curator, professor, cultural producer

  • Monica Bello / Spain / Curator, writer

  • Tania Aedo / Mexico / Curator, cultural producer

  • Asher Remy-Toledo / Colombia, USA / Curator, cultural producer

  • Jazmín Adler / Argentina / Scholar, curator, researcher

  • Joselyne Contreras Cerda / Chile / Curator, researcher, scholar

  • Nestor Sire / Cuba / Artist, curator

  • Erandy Vergara-Vargas / Mexico, Canada / Curator, researcher, scholar 

  • Amor Muñoz / Mexico / Artist

  • Dora Bartilotti / Mexico / Artist

  • Electrobiota / Mexico, Argentina / Artists

  • Ana María Gómez Lopez / Colombia, Netherland / Artist, writer, educator

  • Joaquín Aras / Argentina / Artist

  • Jonathan Emmanuel Torres Rodriguez / Costa Rica / Artist, scholar

  • Guely Morato-Loredo / Bolivia / Artist, curator, cultural producer, educator

  • Federico Gloriani / Argentina / Artist, educator

  • Felipe César Londoño / Colombia / Architect, researcher, curator, scholar

  • Maya Errazuriz / Chile / Curator, editor

bottom of page