by Ilona Smiling
BELIZE CITY, Tues. Apr. 15, 2025
This month marks the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Museum Of Belizean Art (MOBA)—a goal in the making and, for many of us, a necessary platform in the landscape of cultural institutions in Belize. The creation of a dedicated museum solely focused on art promotes the immeasurable talent and artistry found across our country.
As someone who has long believed that art is a mirror to society, being part of the team that brought this museum to life has been a dream fulfilled.
The conception of the museum came from the presentation, “Enhancing Museum Culture in Belize – A Curator’s Perspective,” during the 2021 Kulcha Symposium. I designed a museum dedicated solely to visual arts where artists are honoured, and careers in curation, collections, and exhibition design are promoted. The concept within the presentation birthed the idea to create Belize’s first art museum. With the unwavering support of Hon. Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture; Yasser Musa, Advisor to the Board of NICH; Curator Gilvano Swasey; and myself, we laid the foundation for MOBA. From the very beginning, we knew that MOBA would be more than a space to mount canvases or install sculptures—it would be a home. A home where Belizean artists could be seen, heard, and celebrated in their full spectrum.
MOBA’s heart is rooted in the National Art Collection, which currently houses over 350 artworks by Belizean artists. Doing the selection was no easy task. It was chaos. It was magic. It was magic born from chaos.
Out of that whirlwind came clarity: structure, and more importantly, values. Developing a policy rooted in a commitment to representing artists who had been overlooked in the past, gave birth to the DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) Policy. This resulted in Belize’s first art museum being reflective of the advocacy and the multiplicity of a major cross-section of art genres and artists of Belize. This policy isn’t just a checkbox; it’s our compass. The policy ensures that artists have the space to advocate and create artworks that reflect the themes that matter most to them without fear of exclusion. It remains our compass, and in a time when other institutions are being forced to abandon such policies, we’re proud that MOBA stands firm.
In our desire to provide broader access we partnered with Gabriel Guerrero and his team at Salient Group to launch a modern virtual exhibit, bringing MOBA into the digital space, and opening the gallery to everyone, anywhere. The online exhibit is featured on the Access501 webpage, allowing online viewers to familiarize themselves with Belizean artists, artworks, and achievements.
MOBA is housed in what was once a seat of exclusivity, the colonial Government House. Placing our artists here was no accident. It was an act of reclamation. A deliberate move to transform this historic building from a symbol of division into one of expression, access, and unity.
As we celebrate this milestone, we’re forging ahead. MOBA is proof that when vision, policy, and passion align, we don’t just shape museums, we spark movements.