Best art destinations in South America

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South America's art offer spans a rich continuum from pre-Columbian artefact collections and colonial religious art to the modernist movements that produced some of the twentieth century's most distinctive work and the contemporary scenes that have emerged from the continent's major cities in recent decades. The depth of the permanent collections in the continent's leading museums is frequently underestimated by first-time visitors, with holdings that reward serious and repeated attention.

The continent has produced internationally significant modernist and contemporary artists whose work is better understood in the context of the cities and landscapes that shaped it, giving art travel here a dimension that viewing the same works in northern hemisphere institutions cannot replicate. Street art and public mural traditions in several cities have produced outdoor art environments of genuine scale and ambition that extend well beyond gallery walls.

Museum admission is modest across most of the continent and your money goes a long way making extended art itineraries practical even across multiple cities. Biennial and art fair programming in the continent's leading cities has grown considerably in international profile and advance planning around the exhibition calendar delivers significantly more than an unresearched visit. Commercial gallery scenes in the major cities reward exploration beyond the flagship institutional offer.