Elsa Maldonado and Nicole Bainov Want to Reunite the Caribbean Art Scene

Although contemporary Caribbean artists—especially those working within the diaspora—are beginning to receive greater commercial and institutional attention around the world, much of what is happening in the region’s local scenes remains disconnected from the art world. The recently launched traveling gallery Heliconia Project aims to support and connect these ecosystems of artists, collectors and artisans, not only in the Dominican Republic but throughout the Caribbean. Its mission is to create international avenues for Dominican and Caribbean art while cultivating local art scenes that can sustain themselves over time.

At the edge are two Venezuelan-born art professionals, patrons and collectors, Elsa Maldonado and Nicole Bainov, who, after moving to the Dominican Republic, saw this gap and felt compelled to do something. Using their experience in the international art world, they have created a platform based on the specifics of the local context, its histories and its communities.

Maldonado comes from a long line of established collectors and art philanthropists, while Bainov brings over ten years of experience working in all the major art centers and blue-chip galleries in London, as well as his first involvement with collecting. Together, they envisioned the Heliconia Project as a dynamic, context-driven model that amplifies Caribbean voices with international business standards while remaining relevant and uniquely responsive to local cultural and social realities.

“We felt we could do something—at least provide some cultural information, and our international experience,” they told the Observer. What began as a one-off exhibition has evolved into a professional gallery—one of the few currently active in the Dominican Republic and, most importantly, one that highlights Caribbean talent on international platforms.

The Dominican Republic has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years, driven largely by tourism. Only in 2025, the country recorded 11.6 million visitors, the highest number of arrivals in its history and a sign of continued growth rather than a simple post-pandemic repetition. At the same time, the Dominican Republic has attracted a growing international population, becoming a haven for retirees, remote workers and long-term foreign residents, mainly from North America and Europe. Most immigrants today are concentrated in Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, Samaná and Las Terrenas.

Maldonado and Bainov see the potential of these growing communities to support local artists. “There are a number of small collectors—some of them sit on boards like the Reina Sofía or the Latin American board of the Guggenheim—and they try to invest in local art, support projects and donate to museums,” they noted. “The problem is that there aren’t that many people who support local musicians all the time.” Heliconia was born out of this desire to cultivate a community that could do so while encouraging greater engagement from the international art world with contemporary Caribbean practices.

The modern and contemporary art center of the Dominican Republic, the Museo de Arte Moderno in Santo Domingo, is located in the Plaza de la Cultura Juan Pablo Duarte. Although its program has grown stronger in recent years, Maldonado and Bainov say many efforts to develop the local arts ecosystem are still driven by private initiatives. Two important institutions in this regard are the Centro León, a large private museum and cultural center in Santiago de los Caballeros, and the Museo Bellapart, an important reference point for contemporary Dominican art in Santo Domingo.

Even with these institutions, there are few platforms for local artists, especially those who are emerging when they are first exposed and continuous promotion is important. Heliconia provides that space while also providing the curatorial rigor needed to fine-tune and elevate these practices. “We are very compatible with the institutions. We want to include our artists in the institutions and give them high-quality exhibitions. That is the priority,” they emphasized.

Heliconia Projects has deliberately chosen a navigational format that can respond to the different profiles and behaviors of the island’s communities and support the creation of site-specific projects. By reopening historical spaces and engaging with the colonial or proprietary memories they carry, the gallery uses these spaces to advance new conversations or turn inherited narratives on their head. “The island itself has different centers – Santo Domingo, Santiago and then there are areas that are growing rapidly, mainly because of international residents coming in,” said Bainov, pointing to the established international community with many financial people.

“The question for us was: how do we talk to all these people who don’t think that the Dominican Republic is a place to buy art, only as a tourist destination? Going around helps us avoid saturating a small market by producing too many exhibitions in one place. People don’t have the financial power to support a continuous program, and fatigue sets in quickly,” explained Maldonado. “Instead of waiting for collectors to come to us, we go to them—without compromising curatorial integrity,” Bainov added. This approach allows them to create contextual, memorable presentations that often connect to the architecture and history of the island. “Anywhere we do a show, the venue is part of the show. If we only had one venue set up, we’d lose that one.”

Heliconia Projects recently opened a new exhibition at Casa de Campo to support the community, with proceeds benefiting a foundation that helps children in an impoverished area. “For us, it is a way to give back to the country we live in, while promoting local art,” they said. Entitled “WHAT MEMORY TURNS,” the show brings together a lineup of international and regional artists—including Emiliana Henriquez, Mahsa Tehrani, Adelisa Selimbasic, Natia Lemay and Emily Pope—who explore how the human figure has functioned as a place where memory accumulates slowly and unevenly, often without the reach of language.

When they do shows on the island, they often present international Latino artists to encourage dialogue and exchange. “That’s how we gain recognition from the community,” they said. Conversely, when they ride shows abroad or participate in shows, they prioritize at least one or two Dominicans. “The long-term goal is to help Dominican artists to build careers across the Caribbean and Latin America—to enter powerful collections and institutions.”

Another goal is to bring renewed attention to Dominican artists who may have been neglected internationally, even if they are already recognized within the country’s institutional environment. One such artist is Fernando Varela, who has had major impressions of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico—but not beyond this region. When Heliconia Projects exhibited his work at NADA Villa Warsaw, it succeeded in placing it at MS1 in Łódź, the first modern art museum in the world. “They’re very focused on constructivist artists—figures like Joaquín Torres-García from Uruguay—and Fernando fits that narrative. They recognize him as part of that modern lineage,” Bainov said.

When it comes to emerging talent, Maldonado and Bainov closely follow young artists, although they admit that, in the absence of an active ecosystem, one of the biggest challenges is convincing young creators that the pursuit of art is a viable career path. Many promising people end up quitting and taking day jobs out of necessity.

And because opportunities to study art and attend education are still limited for many, Heliconia also prioritizes education and accessibility. “When we organize exhibitions, we try to make it clear that anyone can come, that these spaces are not closed or high,” said Bainov. Communication is key to this effort, especially through social media. “We use Instagram a lot. People often ask us if there’s an entry fee, and we tell them, no—bring your friends.”