A small exhibition opened this week in the lobby of the Design District: «Ayacucho Retablos — A Living Tradition from the Peruvian Andes», put together by the Embassy of Peru in Kuwait with Contemporary Art Platform. It comes down on 6 October.
What a retablo is
A wooden box, painted bright, with two doors that open onto a miniature scene packed inside: a village festival, a band playing, a craftsman at his bench, an ordinary afternoon in the Andes. Each one is built and painted by hand, and each carries its own story.
The craft comes from the Ayacucho region high in the Andes. Over time it became one of the signatures of Peruvian folk art — as much for keeping the stories as for the fineness of the work.
Where and when
The lobby of the Design District. It opened on Wednesday 30 September from 10am and closes on 6 October.
For daily opening hours, check the mall’s channels and Contemporary Art Platform — this sits in a lobby rather than a gallery with its own timetable.
Peru’s ambassador to Kuwait, Carlos Jimenez, said the show is a chance to introduce a distinctive side of his country’s heritage, and noted the two countries are approaching fifty years of diplomatic relations.
Photograph: detail of an Ayacucho retablo showing a Yawar Fiesta scene. Photograph by EduardoZambrano, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. It is not from the Kuwait exhibition.
Source: Contemporary Art Platform exhibition page; reported by Al-Rai, 1 October 2026.
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