The Parrot's Chest

Travelling in a mysterious chest, over 5,000 folk art items have found their way from Latin America to Basel since 1960. Carefully and full of respect, Valentin Jaquet assembled a collection of precious folk-art objects on eighteen longer and shorter trips to Latin America, from Mexico to Chile. The exhibition “The Parrot’s Chest” is an homage to Latin American folk art, to the gifted men and women who created the works, to their skills and knowledge, and to the poetry the objects radiate. They embody joys and fears as well as dreams and hopes of numerous people in Latin America. The exhibition presents numerous pieces bearing witness to a lively tradition and a vivid imagination.