Ministry of Cultures announces the curatorial project and executive direction that will represent Chile at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2027
Conceiving Chilean literature as an expanded cosmos, where the sky works as a symbolic archive, a territory of memory and a space of cultural projection. That is the proposal of “Residence in the Sky” (“Residencia en el Cielo”), the project selected to represent Chile at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2027. Meanwhile, the executive direction of our country's participation as Guest of Honour at the world's most important professional book fair will be led by Nicolás Leyton, a publisher with more than 12 years of experience in the industry, who will lead the actions of this strategic project.
“Since the signing of the agreement that made Chile the official Guest of Honour, we have taken on the task of moving forward with the commitments this participation demands – not only anchored in the publishing sector, but as a platform that offers opportunities for the cultural sector and for other productive sectors. In this sense, the selected curatorial narrative is inviting, multidisciplinary and representative of who we are as a country and what we want to project, based on our history, our skies, our territorial diversity and the symbols that emerge from them,” said the Minister of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, Carolina Arredondo Marzán.
“Residence in the Sky” proposes reading Chilean literature not as a chronological line but as a multiple space-time, organised in constellations. It also links literature, science, art and thought, placing astronomy as a core of identity and a bridge between the local and the global, and recognises Chile as a privileged territory for observing the cosmos, both through its geography (Atacama and the great astronomical observatories) and through its symbolic and literary tradition.
The team behind the proposal is led by José Délano, a designer and cultural manager with more than two decades of experience who has been based in Berlin for over 10 years. The literary direction of the project is headed by Álvaro Matus, journalist and editor of Revista Santiago and of the publisher Hueders, with an extensive journalistic career in media such as La Tercera and El Mercurio, as well as other national and international publications related to the world of books.
The creative team also includes Álvaro Díaz, journalist and screenwriter, founder of Aplaplac and one of the co-creators of 31 minutos. The audiovisual team will be led by Pablo González, a creative director with more than 20 years of experience.
Finally, the project's image will be led by Piedad Rivadeneira, a renowned creative director and designer who will be in charge of the visual identity. She will be supported in communications by journalist Josefa Quintana as communications officer and Marisol García as press liaison.
2026 is expected to be a stage of deepening and expanding the programme, focused on the professionalisation of the book ecosystem, the strengthening of internationalisation and the construction of Chile's curatorial narrative as Guest of Honour.