n 2005, more than 850,000 people visited the 5th edition of the Mercosur Biennial of Visual Arts, the largest exhibition of contemporary Latin-American art in the world. With the theme Stories of Art and Space, the exhibition brought together 597 works by 167 artists from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay, together with four non Latin-American artists.

The works were shown across 24,000 square meters in Porto Alegre, Brazil, with free entry. Ninety percent of the works had never been shown before, having been created especially for the exhibition. The featured artist in 2005 was Amilcar de Castro, one of Brazil’s most important sculptors.

The Educational Action project, which helped 153,400 students from 2,500 schools, encouraged reflection on issues related to the language of the visual arts. The Mercosur Biennial of Visual Arts Foundation trained 1,600 teachers. Seven books were published covering the exhibits on display.

One of the highlights of the event was the siting of four important permanent art works in the city of Porto Alegre, by the artists Mauro Fuke, José Resende, Waltércio Caldas and Carmela Gross. The Gerdau Group has supported the Mercosur Biennial since it was first held in 1997, reflecting a vision of social responsibility and entrepreneurialism.