In the middle of 59s, CAP inaugurated the first exhibition of the Artistas del Acero Cultural Corporation with works by seventeen employees from Huachipato Steel Company. This exhibition was hosted at the Journalism School of the University of Concepción and was supported by the Extension Department of the aforementioned institution of higher education. Artistas del Acero was established in response to the creative concerns of numerous Huachipato employees. One of the primary goals of the workshop was to shape the “steel family” by giving it a distinct identity and enriching it with cultural, artistic, and creative pursuits that transcend mere material interest. Below is an excerpt from the Artistas del Acero Magazine, volume named 1958-2008, pages 22–23:
‘The positive response of the workers’ families and the Penquista community (people from Concepción) to this first exhibition inspired the company to implement courses for the plant’s employees and their families. My father, apart from his involvement with the magazine, also started teaching painting and ceramics within this novel cultural environment. In 1960, it was possible to display the first results of this initiative in the second Artistas del Acero exhibition, which had an even greater impact on the public and the media, and whose acceptance grew in the annual exhibitions that continued to be held with works by employees or their families, as well as the external students who enrolled in different workshops. Huachipato also sponsored the exhibition of its students’ artwork at the Second Chilean Plastic Arts Fair, which took place in the Forest Park of Santiago that same year and a collection that included artworks by Eugenio Brito Honorato and the sculptor Domingo Llanos.’ (Eugenio Brito Figueroa, Artist’s son)
