Estudio Nuboso

From February 20 to August 17, 2025, we exhibit at the MAC Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Panamá with more than 20 artists. It is a retrospective exhibition that at the same time contemplates a more vibrant future, proposing the notion of growing, weaving nature-culture corridors of planetary solidarity. In addition to the opening on Thursday 20 at 5pm, we held an all-day meeting on Saturday 22 to kick off this exhibition cycle, presenting the threads that will accompany the exhibition through the public program: Suelo MAC activations and monthly meetings Weaving nature-culture corridors. We look forward to seeing you!

Victoria Alegría, Mariela Aragón, Héctor Ayarza, Carolina Borrero, Wanda von Bremen, Lorena Carrasco, Ana Berta Carrizo, Rose Marie Cromwell, Carlos Fernández, Román Flórez, Laura Fong, Anna Handick, Tova Katzman, Silvia Noronha, Isabel de Obaldía, Claire Pentecost, Dominique Ratton Pérez, Mir Rodríguez, Tarina Rodríguez, Libertad Rojo, Jennifer Spector, Ani Ventocilla, José Carlos Zavarse, Emily Zhukov

Curators Juan Canela, Jennifer Choy, Mana Pinto y Ela Spalding 

Cumulus is the meeting, union or sum of many non-material things. And cumulus is also a type of cotton-like cloud that can form in rows or in groups, which can often be seen on sunny days. Depending on the effects of other atmospheric factors, like instability, humidity, and thermal gradient, cumulus are precursors to other types of clouds, which can lead to precipitation. 

Estudio Nuboso is an initiative born more than ten years ago in Panama founded by artist~facilitator Ela Spalding (Panama, 1982) as an organization of art and ecology dedicated to encouraging a better relationship between humans and the natural contexts we inhabit. Through a collective and flexible work structure that organizes residencies, workshops, publications, exhibitions and audiovisual projects, Estudio Nuboso has been concerned with creating space and time to connect with the environment, and with human and more-than-human communities, focusing on the care, research and regeneration of the Panamanian tropical ecosystems. Throughout this time, Estudio Nuboso has been generating a cumulus of collaborators, gathering allied particles that join forces depending on the project, and then reorganize themselves in diverse configurations.

The Mapa Corredores natura-cultura is a living, participatory map that explores ecological connectivity in Panama. It’s a collaboration between Almanaque Azul and Estudio Nuboso. It highlights key areas of the country where forest preservation is essential to ensure the free movement of species while identifying regions where deforestation has disrupted these flows and where restoration is needed. More than a static cartography, this project invites us to think of the territory as a constantly evolving network, where nature and human action intertwine to restore and protect the country’s ecological corridors.

All living things move: animals, birds, insects, plants and humans. Water, air and the earth itself also move. This movement is essential for life, to feed, reproduce and evolve; it is what allows the diversity of living beings, nature to regenerate and become stronger in the face of change. In this context, ecological connectivity becomes key, as it determines how easy or difficult it is for living beings to move between their living spaces.

Natural corridors are arteries of life that facilitate movement and communication. This map expands Almanaque Azul’s map of natural corridors in Panama by integrating a layer of regenerative human action to explore the idea of nature-culture corridors of planetary solidarity. What it reveals is that there are many, many communities in Panama working together to care for and restore the conditions that enable life on Earth.

We are organized around culture, conservation and territorial defense, restoration or scientific research, in community-based organizations, water boards, collectives and cultural spaces. This visualization illustrates the challenges and also offers hope. It is a reminder that by coming together in collective action we can weave a web of mutual support on a global scale. In an ever-changing world, these connections are needed more than ever.

Version 1.0 MAC – February 2025

This map is based on Almanaque Azul’s Map of Panama’s natural corridors, whose research, production and dissemination was carried out by

Miriam Pons, Mir Rodríguez Lombardo, Michelle Szejner and Jessica Wakauma Ausinheiler. With original layout by Marilaura Cajar Benavides.

Thanks to the support of Rossie Pope-Meyer, president of the board of directors of Pro Eco Azuero, and Sylvia Pope.

Cartography: Mir Rodríguez Lombardo

Adaptation for canvas mounting for Estudio Nuboso’s 10+ years expo: Dominique Ratton Perez and Ela Spalding

Data sources: Ministry of Environment (land use map 2022, SINAP, OBCs), Tommy Guardia National Geographic Institute (road network, borders, coastline, rivers, provinces and districts), Kendra Walker (2019, vegetation), OpenStreetMap contributors (road network, coastline), National Institute of Statistics and Census, Comptroller General of the Republic of Panama (villages and human population density with 2010 census data), Carolina Borrero Arias with initiatives documented in her film La Selva Llama, Panama Museum and Visitor Center Network, Ministry of Health (JAARs), National System of Conservation Areas (Costa Rica), National Natural Parks of Colombia.

Includes data from the project “Strengthening the capacities of Community Based Organizations at the national level”, financed by the PPD-UNDP/GEF Small Grants Program.

Experts consulted: Alicia Ibañez, Beatriz Schmitt, Charlotte Elton, Daniel Holness, Jonathan González Quiel, José Manuel Mendieta, José de Jesús Vargas González, Melisa Ayala, Néstor Espejo, Pedro Méndez-Carvajal, Ricardo Moreno, Roney Samaniego and Samuel Valdés.

www.almanaqueazul.org / www.estudionuboso.org

To learn about the Tejiendo Corredores / Weaving Corridors Sessions within the Cumulus exhibition click here.

Subscribe to our Podcast and newsletter Weaving Corridors / Tejiendo Corredores