Taller Portobelo has its beginnings in the 1970s when Panamanian photographer Sandra Eleta opened her home in Portobelo to artists and friends as a place to make art, engage in critical discussions about art and aesthetics, and exchange creative ideas. In the early years, Taller Portobelo was known as Grupo Portobelo – the Portobelo Group. Inspired by the rich history and beauty of the region, artists from all over Panama began collaborating with people in the village on audio-visual projects, films, videos, theater, music and dance.

In 1982 with the assistance of Juan Dalvera, a Panamanian poet and painter, Taller Portobelo began operating a very successful women's sewing cooperative that produced high fashion women’s clothing for sale in Panama as well as for export to other parts of the Americas and Europe. This venture also served as a vehicle to re-ignite interests in the craft of quilting that the elder women of the village had preserved. The Taller (pronounced Tah-yer) became known for producing clothing with beautiful geometric designs, as well as naturalistic forms in brilliant colors that reflected the rich flora and fauna of the region. Taller Portobelo also served as a workshop for making the robes for the Cristo Negro de Portobelo – the Black Christ of Portobelo, provided studios for designers, photographers and painters; as well as, the set for several Congo interactive dance performances.

Panamanian born artist Arturo Lindsay arrived in Portobelo in the early 1990s and soon began collaborating with Sandra Eleta, and Yaneca Esquina, a leading member of the Portobelo Congo community in establishing a painting workshop at the Taller. By the mid-1990s the Painting Workshop of Taller Portobelo began operating as an artist cooperative dedicated to the preservation of the memory of the cimarrones – Africans that liberated themselves in wars against the Spanish enslavers – and the conservation of the traditions of their descendants, the Congos, in works of art. Taller Portobelo also serves as a way to help improve the economic conditions of the village.

While a number of artists have participated in the painting Workshop, a core group consisting of Virgilio “Yaneca” Esquina, Gustavo Esquina de la Espada, Virgilio “Tito” Esquina, Manuel “Tatú” Golden, Jose “Moraito” Angulo, Ariel “Pajarito” Jimenez, Reynaldo Esquina, Jeronimo Chiari, Sandra “La Bruja” Eleta, Arturo “Fuga Fuga” Lindsay and Fahamu Pecou work and exhibit consistently as members of Taller Portobelo.

Today the facilities of Taller Portobelo consist of the painters’ studio, a small gallery and housing facilities for artists, students and invited guests.

Taller Portobelo, in conjunction with Taller Portobelo Norte, our sister collective in Atlanta, Georgia, and Spelman College, facilitates several art and cultural immersion programs throughout the year for students, emerging and professional artist and writers. These include the Taller Portobelo Summer Art Residency, the International Artist in Residency Program, as well as trips to Portobelo, Panama during the Black Christ Festival and Congo Carnival.