Irina Yushmánova

Irina Yushmanova is the founder and visionary leader of the international art festival RIOS DE COLOR, one of the most dynamic cultural platforms in contemporary realist art. A professional visual artist and the director of Endorphine Art School, founded in Mexico in 2019, Yushmanova has played a key role in connecting artists across continents through exhibitions, competitions, and educational initiatives.

INTRODUCTION

HISTORY

RIVERS OF COLOR International Art Festival is one of the most dynamic cultural platforms in contemporary realist art, and has played a key role in connecting artists from every continent through exhibitions, competitions, and educational initiatives.

The story of RIVERS OF COLOR began in 2023, when Irina Yushmanova — founder and visionary leader of the Festival, a multidisciplinary visual artist, and director of Endorphine Art School which started in México in 2019 — together with her great team of Mexican artists (see page TEAM), organized the First International Festival, bringing together 128 works by artists from 26 countries in a physical exhibition in Ciudad de México. The success of this first edition confirmed the strong demand for an inclusive, high-quality international artistic dialogue.

Building on this momentum, the Second International Art Festival in 2025 expanded significantly, presenting 147 works of art from 34 countries in two physical exhibitions — at Centro Cultural Juan Rulfo in Ciudad de México for one month, and at Museo de la Acuarela del Estado de México for two months — plus a large-scale virtual exhibition showcasing 500 works of art from 54 countries, making RIVERS OF COLOR a truly global event.

The Third RIVERS OF COLOR International Art Festival 2026 continues this trajectory, reinforcing its mission to build artistic bridges between cultures and position México as an international center for contemporary visual arts. This third edition of the Festival brought together more than 800 works from 60 countries, of which 250 works were selected for the physical exhibitions. In addition, a Masters exhibition was organized, featuring the brilliant works of Angela Barbi, Daniel Martinez, Eudes Correia, Ivan Loginov, Julia Barminova, Liu Yi, Nicolas Lopez, Olga Litvinenko, Roberto Zangarelli, Yu Sih Ying (Ellie).

Nearly 250 works make up the physical exhibition, distributed this year across three cultural venues in Ciudad de México, while the virtual showcase brings together 500 pieces on view all year round, until October 8, 2027, on our website www.rios-de-color.com/galeria and on our social media, www.instagram.com/riversofcolor.festival and www.facebook.com/rios-de-color. Each piece gathered in these pages reflects technical excellence, authenticity, and a genuine pursuit of high culture.

Over the years, our jury members and guest artists have included: Thomas Schaller, Ivan Loginov, Jung Hunsung, Antonio Giacomin, Nicolás López, La Fe, David Condori, Vicente García, Zhou Tianya, Sergey Temerev, Andy Evansen, Rukiye De Noche, Angus McEwan, Zin Lim, Anna Massinissa, Eudes Correia, Angela Barbi, Olga Litvinenko, Akbar Akbari, Prafull Sawant, Elke Memmler, Daniel Martínez, Kauser Houssain, Isabel Alosete, Silvia Monge, George Politis, Atanur Dogan, Amit Kapoor, André Kano, Javad Soleinmapour, Jansen Chow, Hong Shan, Michael Solovyev, Tere Lojero, Laurin McCracken, Tibor Nagy, Jorge Corpuna, Silvia Neiger, David Poxon, Antonio Giacomin, Marc Folly, Luis Viñals, Patricia Guzmán, Serhiy Lysyy, Julia Barminova, and many other renowned professional artists and stars of the art world.

Thanks to the Festival’s great team, it has become a multidisciplinary platform that brings together exhibitions, live demonstrations, workshops, and professional competitions. The festival, which spans from classical realism to contemporary abstract art, embraces techniques such as oil, watercolor, dry and oil pastels, acrylics, graphite, charcoal, Chinese ink, gouache, and mixed media, offering a broad panorama of the artistic voices of our time. Our deepest purpose remains the same as it was on day one: to promote art of the highest quality through diverse media, and to create a meeting space where emerging and established artists can connect, exchange, and inspire one another. Like a river, each edition of RIVERS OF COLOR has kept growing, gathering tributaries, colors, and new voices, without ever losing its original course: the certainty that art unites us beyond any border.

VALUES

RIVERS OF COLOR holds as its highest and guiding values: Honesty. Transparency. Quality. Objectivity. Fairness. Equity.

MISSION

The mission of RIVERS OF COLOR is to bring together artists from every nation through art, fostering healthy competition, fellowship, and cultural exchange. Our purpose is to showcase the creativity, quality, and innovation present in every work, encouraging the creation of art capable of conveying and connecting emotions full of light, color, and sensitivity. We work to offer every artist a dignified space in which to display and have their talent recognized, fostering their growth and visibility within the international artistic community. Likewise, RIVERS OF COLOR is committed to promoting impartiality, transparency, and equity among its distinguished artists, jurors, speakers, and participants. We want new generations to approach the festival with confidence and enthusiasm, knowing they will find a fair, respectful space open to all. Because RIVERS OF COLOR celebrates not only creativity, color, and knowledge, but also human warmth, equality, and respect for every artistic expression.

VISION

RIVERS OF COLOR seeks to leave a lasting mark on the history of contemporary art and to establish itself as one of the most widely recognized art festivals in the world. Our vision is to bring together distinguished artists, jurors, speakers, and participants from different countries, creating a space where competing is also an opportunity to share knowledge, experience, and values. We aim to build a great international artistic community that discovers, in art, a meeting point capable of tearing down borders, overcoming prejudice, and bringing people together. We want to transform, inspire, and leave a mark on the world through an artistic union free of divisions by race, origin, culture, or creed — a space where talent, creativity, respect, and a passion for art are the true universal language.

INTERNATIONAL JURY OF THE THIRD EDITION 2026

For the Still Life, Animals, and Flowers category: Angus McEwan, Atanas Matsoureff, Bijay Biswaal, Ekaterina Sava, Silvia Monge, Veneta Docheva, and Xi Guo.

For the Landscape category: Achintya Hazra, André Kano, Aood Ampawa, Javid Tabatabaei, Lai Yuong Lin, Uladzimir Shapavalau, and Viktoria Prischedko.

For the Portrait and Figure category: Alisa Semenova, Ivan Loginov, Jung Hun Sung, Luis Vinals, Patricia Guzmán, Slava Prischedko, and Đào Quang Huy.

For the Abstract Art category: Angela Barbi, Ilya Ibryaev, Jayson Yeoh, Konstantin Sterkhov, Rajat Bandopadhyay, Roberto Zangarelli, and Simonida Filipova Kitanovska.

WORKSHOP LEADERS, GUEST ARTISTS, AND DEMONSTRATORS OF THE THIRD EDITION 2026

The talented artists who will also lead workshops and offer live demonstrations of their skills are: Angela Barbi, Daniel Martínez, Darío Ortiz, Eudes Correia, Irina Yushmanova, Ivan Loginov, Julia Barminova, Jorge Corpuna, Jorge Leon, Katarzyna Kmiecik, Liu Yi, Luis Vinals, Nicolás López, Olga Litvinenko, Pedro García Muciño, Scott Stevenson, Yu Sih Ying (Ellie), 

And you will see the original works of these very famous guest artist in the exhibition: Nishikant Palande, Sareh Mohebeian, Herman Pekel, Tatiana Anisimova, Tomáš Fišera, Prafull Sawant, and Zahra Hamze.