The project draws on the Andean world, where the Quechua people worshipped the sun god Inti, seen as the giver of life and a central figure in agricultural rituals. Inca rulers represented Inti as a golden disk with a human face. Historical accounts say that Spanish conquistadors seized such a disk in 1571 and sent it toward the Vatican via Spain, after which it disappeared.
The exhibition will take place in Pueblo Libre, a suburb of Lima, where dozens of artworks featuring sun motifs will be displayed. Dorich says the aim is to connect “people, nature and culture”, blending ancestral traditions with contemporary artistic expression.
The summer solstice is the moment when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, making it the longest day of the year, while the winter solstice is the shortest day. Their six-month cycle once symbolised renewal and hope. People traditionally celebrated the solstice with rituals, dance, art and communal gatherings.
Dorich describes them as moments for reflection, gratitude and strengthening social bonds.
She launched the Solstice Festival in 2022, held annually on 21 June and 21 December.
At the most recent edition, held six months ago, 32 international artists took part, including five from Croatia. The exhibition, set up in a public park in Pueblo Libre, featured paintings, drawings and works by Zdenka Starčević, Zoran Hercigonja, Biserka Vuković, Maritza Karadža, as well as the festival’s director Rebeca Dorich.
Karadža, who lives in Lima, said descendants of Croatian emigrants in South America contribute actively to cultural life.
Around 196,000 people in Peru are estimated to have Croatian roots or surnames linked to Croatian heritage, according to Croatia’s Central State Office for Croats Abroad. Historical records also note that Dubrovnik nobleman Basilije Basiljević arrived in Peru in 1573, making it likely the first South American destination reached by Croats.
Karadža contributed two works to the festival, including a depiction of a dialogue between two potatoes – an indigenous Peruvian crop later introduced to Europe – set between sky and fertile soil, as well as a painting of the Cahuachi pyramid, an ancient ceremonial site associated with solstice rituals.
Artists living in Croatia also participate, portraying the “sun of their homeland”. Biserka Vuković, an artist from Rijeka, painted a sunlit sea with the Croatian flag. Dorich says the goal is to connect global artists with audiences in Lima, involving different generations of creators and visitors.
She does not rule out bringing a travelling version of the Solstice Festival to Croatia in the future.