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Agence France-Presse

In a chapel in sleepy rural Uruguay, wooden pews have been replaced by a sound sculpture made of resonance boxes and rubber mallets.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.


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 says.
Located about 170km (105 miles) east of the capital, Montevideo, Pueblo Garzon has been compared to Tuscany because of its landscape of vineyards and olive trees.
It’s a unique place. It has a special energy
Uruguayan artist Mauro Arbiza on Pueblo Garzon
The town began to attract attention 20 years ago when Argentine chef Francis Mallmann opened a restaurant there.
“Francis is the absolute ambassador,” says Lucia Soria, a fellow chef who is behind the Mesa Garzon project, which hosts dinners around the town. “But Heidi is the ambassador of art,” she adds without hesitation.
Lender arrived in Garzon by chance 14 years ago, fell in love with the town, bought a house and founded a non-profit organisation to “give other artists the opportunity to create in this magical land”, she says.


Today the project includes artist residencies, Campo Artfest and a planned art campus.
“It’s hard to explain what Garzon has. You have to come and experience it,” Lender says.
“There’s an energy that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world. it’s a mix of light, the people, authenticity, simplicity of life, tranquillity, solitude and beauty,” she adds.
As in most rural communities in Uruguay, the town square is the main focus of activity.


There you will find the church, the town hall, a social club, an old warehouse converted into a designer shop, Mallmann’s restaurant and a museum-cafe opened by two of his daughters.
Uruguayan artist Mauro Arbiza recently opened a gallery in front of the square, having sold his sculptures in the town for nearly a decade.
“I used to always go to Art Basel in Miami in December,” he says, referring to the international fair with shows in Hong Kong, Paris and Miami Beach, as well as Switzerland. “But I don’t go any more. I make more contacts here.”


With price tags ranging from US$2,500 (HK$19,400) to US$40,000, Arbiza hopes his works will appeal to wealthy visitors who spend the summer in the nearby resort of Punta del Este.
European and American tourists and collectors, as well Argentines and Brazilians, are among those browsing galleries, owners say.
The town’s abandoned railway station is a reminder of the prosperity that a wheat mill helped to bring in a bygone era.


Pueblo Garzon was once home to 2,000 people, a far cry from the 178 inhabitants recorded in a 2023 census in the town, where gauchos on horseback are seen riding down the quiet streets.
Residents include John Pearse, tailor to rock stars including the Rolling Stones, and French artist Marie Ducate, who has her own museum.
“It’s a unique place. It has a special energy,” Arbiza says.


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Tourists in front of a store in Pueblo Garzon, Uruguay, during preparations for its Campo Artfest in December 2024. Photo: AFP

Moroccan artist Myriam Zini (right) prepares her installation ahead of the Campo Artfest in Pueblo Garzón, Uruguay. The small rural town in the South American country has become a magnet for international artists through its annual festival. Photo: AFP

American photographer Heidi Lender is the founder of Campo Artfest and has been called the town’s “ambassador of art”. Photo: AFP

An aerial view of an installation by Uruguayan artist Fernando Velázquez on the run-up to Campo Artfest. Photo: AFP

Chef Lucía Soria runs Mesa Garzon, a project that host dinners around the town. Photo: AFP

 Sol Aput López, head chef at Argentine chef Francis Mallmann’s Restaurante Garzón, cooks during preparations for Campo Artfest. Photo: AFP

Uruguayan artist Mauro Arbiza at his art gallery in Pueblo Garzon ahead of Campo Artfest. Photo: AFP

Uruguayan artist Karina Flores prepares her installation ahead of the Campo Artfest in Pueblo Garzon. Photo: AFP

Tourists stand in front of La Casa de las Hermanas, a hip boutique and cafe in front of Garzon’s town square. Photo: AFP

Artists gather during the opening of Campo Artfest. Photo: AFP

Pueblo Garzon’s abandoned railway station. The town used to be home to a wheat mill and 2,000 people. Photo: AFP

In the Uruguayan countryside east of the capital, Montevideo, Pueblo Garzon has been compared to Tuscany because of its landscape of vineyards and olive trees. Photo: AFP

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Pueblo Garzon, an old mill town, drew 6,000 visitors to its eighth Campo Artfest. For one resident artist, the festival beats Art Basel


Pueblo Garzon, an old mill town, drew 6,000 visitors to its eighth Campo Artfest. For one resident artist, the festival beats Art Basel.


Americas and the Caribbean