The Rio Sumpul Massacre Memorial

On 14 May 1980, the Armed Forces of El Salvador and paramilitary groups brutally killed over 600 defenseless civilians in Las Aradas, Chalatenango. This event, known as the Rio Sumpul Massacre, contributed to precipitating a civil war that lasted for twelve years.

The participatory design and collaborative realization of the Rio Sumpul Memorial is led by the international initiative ‘Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador’, a collaboration of Asociación Sumpul (representing local communities) with KU Leuven (Belgium), Western University (Canada), the National University of El Salvador, local artists, and architects AgwA with Evelia Macal.

This exhibition presents a range of materials that offer a comprehensive insight into this architectural project and its multifaceted context, from architectural drawings and scale models to paintings, ceramics, embroideries, prints, testimonies, photographs and more.

KADOC-KU Leuven
Vlamingenstraat 39 3000 Leuven
Monday to Friday: 9am to 5pm
Sunday: 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Free entrance