The Caracas Athenaeum (known in Spanish as the ''Ateneo de Caracas'') is a cultural institution centred on the arts. It is currently located in Macaracuay, at the Southeast corner of Caracas, after having been expelled by the Bolivarian government from its premises located in the area of Los Caobos,

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

History

The institution was founded on August 8, 1931. The Caracas Athenaeum has always been led by women. The Caracas Athenaeum's founder,

María Teresa Castillo María Teresa Castillo (October 15, 1908 – June 22, 2012) was a Venezuelan journalist, politician, political activist, human rights activist, and cultural entrepreneur. She was the founder of the Caracas Athenaeum, a leading cultural institution ...

, served as president from 1958 to 2012. The first president was the musician Maria Luisa Escobar. She led the Atheneum from its first headquarters, a residence which was owned by general Vicencio Pérez Soto. In 1942, there was a change of both, president and location. The presidency went to the hands of actress Anna Julia Rojas. The new location was the place of birth of the educator Andrés Bello. The Athenaeum obtained a purpose-built home in Los Caobos. The

brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

building was designed by

Gustavo Legorburu Gustavo is the Latinate form of a Germanic male given name with respective prevalence in Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. It has been a common name for Swedish monarchs since the reign of Gustav Vasa. It is derived from Gustav /ˈɡʊstɑːv/, al ...

, who won the National Prize of Architecture for it that same year. It hosted two theatre auditoriums, a concert hall, a library, a gallery, a cinema, rehearsal rooms, a café, as well as numerous offices. The building is now occupied by the Universidad Experimental Nacional de las Artes, which was created in 2008.

Activities of the Athenaeum

*International Theatre Festival of Caracas - Created by

Maria Teresa Castillo Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

and the resident theatre director of the time, Carlos Giménez. Considered one of the top theatre festivals of the world. *Christmas fair - has stands for artisans, silversmiths, antique dealers... *Annual painting exhibition - centred on either national or international artists. *Viewings of art house cinema. *Theatre season, resident company is Rajatabla. Famous productions include ''Tu País Está Féliz'', ''Señor Presidente'', '' Bolívar'', ''La Muerte de García Lorca'' and ''La Charité de Vallejo''. *Theater Festival José Angel Porte Acero- Created in 1990

References

External links

Caracas Athenaeum at caracasvirtual.com
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1983 Buildings and structures in Caracas Theatres in Caracas Event venues established in 1931 Tourist attractions in Caracas