Small Uruguayan town seeks place on international art map

In a chapel in sleepy rural Uruguay, wooden pews have been replaced by a sound sculpture made of resonance boxes and rubber mallets. It may not be the most obvious location for an international art festival, but Pueblo Garzon is a small town with big ambitions to join the world’s cultural hotspots.

The sound installation was the creation of Lukas Kuhne, one of more than 20 artists from countries including Brazil, Singapore, South Korea and the United States who took part in the three-day CAMPO Artfest in late December. The 8th edition of the event created by American photographer Heidi Lender drew around 6,000 visitors to a town with fewer than 200 residents.

Aerial view of cows at the Garzon town during the preparations for CAMPO Artfest.

Tourists stand in front of the shop store 'La Casa de las Hermanas'.

German artist Lukas Kühne poses for a picture at the chapel of the town.

A couple plays football at the square of the town.

People talk in the shop store 'La Casa de las Hermanas'.

Uruguayan artist Mauro Arbiza poses for a picture at the Arbiza Gallery.

A man observes objects in the shop store 'La Casa de las Hermanas'.

Moroccan artist Myriam Zini prepares her installation.

Moroccan artist Myriam Zini (right) prepares her installation.

Head chef at Restaurante Garzón, Sol Aput López, cooks during the preparations for CAMPO Artfest.

People work on a house.

Uruguayan artist Fernando Velazquez prepares his installation.

Chef Lucía Soria cooks at Espacio Garzón during the preparations.

Kuhne, a German based in Uruguay, describes Pueblo Garzon as “a utopian project” but “in the good sense.” “It seems like any other town, but it’s not. Very beautiful and interesting things are happening. It has its aura,” he said. Located about 170 kilometers (105 miles) east of the capital Montevideo, Pueblo Garzon has been compared to Tuscany because of its landscape of vineyards and olive trees.

It began to attract attention 20 years ago when renowned Argentine chef Francis Mallmann opened a restaurant there. “Francis is the absolute ambassador,” said Lucia Soria, a fellow chef behind the Mesa Garzon project which hosts dinners around the town. “But Heidi is the ambassador of art,” she added without hesitation.