Astrid Liliana Angulo Cortés (1974–2026) — artist, cultural manager, and a woman of precision in her artistic practice — brought into profound visibility the Afro-Colombian world.

Liliana passed away yesterday (21 February 2026), leaving behind an immense creative legacy. Her work, held in various museum collections, reveals a presence that, through a long racist tradition in Latin America and the Caribbean, has been rendered invisible in history. With significant research rigour, her practice makes visible the enduring presence of the Afro world within the vicissitudes of Colombia: women and men who remind us that history cannot be merely a narrative of white European elites on this side of the world.

Liliana, also Director of the National Museum of Colombia and co-creator of the Afro Museum of Colombia, placed on the agenda the necessary and difficult discussions that few state museums dare to confront: how to transform institutional structures in order to act from an anti-racist and decolonial standpoint, and to develop new ways — conscious of a difficult past — of understanding ourselves as citizens.

From ICOM Latin America and the Caribbean, we express our profound sorrow at the passing of a colleague whose presence in this world transformed the perspective of thousands of museum visitors. We are certain that her Black Presence, as well as her entire body of work, will remain a legacy that continues to inspire critical reflection within the museums of our region. May she rest in peace and serenity.

Image: Liliana Angulo Cortés. Black Presence Project [fragment]. 2007. Collection of the Banco de la República (Colombia).