SOUTH SHORE TEMPTATIONS Art, Culture and Puerto Vallarta

an Interview with OPC’s Pilar Perez

While Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay has long been home to OPCs (Off Premises Contacts/Outside Public Canvassers) related to the timeshare industry and other promotions, today in one of Mexico’s friendliest cities, OPC has a brand new meaning to inspire both visitors and local residents: Oficina de Proyectos Culturales (Cultural Project Office).

OPC is a an non-profit arts organization located in Puerto Vallarta’s downtown on Juarez street whose mission is to foster dialogue through art exhibitions, panelled discussions and education programs among other cultural endeavours. Open to the public Wednesday through Saturday and by appointment, the center is the nearest thing to a cultural art center that Puerto Vallarta has, apart from, perhaps, the Biblioteca Los Mangos.

Find out more about the OPC and the driving force behind it, Pilar Perez, in this fascinating interview.

How was OPC born?

OPC was founded by a group of artists, curators, and architects—me, Fernando Sanchez, Oscar Moran, Heidi Padilla, Davis Birks, and Maria Jose Zorilla—the same group of people who have worked tirelessly for the last few years on developing a contemporary art museum for the city. Unfortunately, the museum project was put on hold and we proceeded to think about developing a smaller venture.

We were thrilled when Terence Reilly and David Schwendeman told us about the former Sherwin-Williams building in Centro that was owned by a friend of theirs. We immediately went down to see the building and recognized right away the potential to create a cultural center.

We also had an extraordinary response from individual donors who helped us launch the space, and others who have helped underwrite exhibitions.

Could you share a little about your art background?

As an undergraduate studying Latin American Literature at UC Irvine, I had the opportunity to take art history classes from Philip Leider, the founding editor of ArtForum magazine, and that chance occurrence really changed my life. I then received a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies and moved on to curating exhibitions and editing art books. 

I became the director of exhibitions at Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica, as well as the managing editor of Smart Art Press. And then in 2002, I co-founded Perceval Press with Viggo Mortensen. I have been very fortunate to organize cultural projects on both sides of the border, including the large photographic exhibition Mexico Through Foreign Eyes/Mexico visto por ojos extranjeros that opened at the Tamayo Museum in Mexico City and traveled to other cities; Distant Relations: Chicano, Irish, and Mexican Art that opened at the Irish Museum of Modern art and then traveled to Mexico City; Double Trouble: The Patchett Collection that opened at the Museum of Contemporary Arty in La Jolla and then traveled to Guadalajara and Mexico City before going on to Spain.

Because of my literary background, I was also called on to organize the Sexta Feria del Libro de la Ciudad de Mexico; and to organize the cultural component of the FIL when Los Angeles was the invited city.  But one of my proudest achievements is the contemporary art festival, Puerto Vallarta: Arte Contemporáneo, that we brought to the city in 2008. We hope for a repeat soon.

Why Puerto Vallarta?

I grew up here in Puerto Vallarta and I have always had a fascination with the city. I also had the opportunity to return to the house my father and mother built for us children. My father, Antonio Perez Briones, who has since passed away, had the first travel agency in Vallarta, Viajes Vallarta, as well as one of the first sport fishing business, so I developed a love for the ocean and the bay from a very early age.

I also think Puerto Vallarta has incredible potential for cultural tourism and now with Fernando Sanchez leading the Cultural Institute, I think we are finally moving forward.

How do you see cultural advances in the next 10 years?

I think if Fernando Sanchez can change the Cultural Institute into an OPD, (decentralized independent organization), free from local government administration changes, I think Puerto Vallarta will be on the road to witnessing a whole new cultural landscape. We really need continuity, as well as a cultural director who is well-read and versed in the visual arts, music, and the performing arts, and I think we have that in Fernando.

I would also love to see more independent projects like OPC, a proper art museum, more venues for music and performances, a bookstore, art reviewers, and more infrastructure to bring well-known artists to exhibit or perform. It is very heartening to see landlords of empty buildings in the downtown area now donating the use of the space for exhibitions.

What is your greatest challenge being the director of the OPC

I have a mantra for Vallarta: bigger vision; higher standards. OPC is producing museum quality exhibitions, but that takes funding. So my greatest challenge on a day-to-day basis is fundraising. We need private donations to help us continue our exhibition programming, lectures and and free children’s workshops. We have can now offer tax deductible receipts, so we are excited to launch a fundraising campaign and have more of the community involved with OPC.

My other challenge is explaining contemporary art. I would like to ask those that feel they do not understand contemporary art to remember that all art has been contemporary.