Juan Sisay was considered one of the most important "primitivista" painters of Guatemala. Born in 1921 in the village of Panul Atitlan, he spent his early years working, and therefore could not attend school. Never instructed formally in the art of painting, he taught himself, and developed a unique and personal style. Juan Sisay painted in a time of great civil unrest and social protests, and throughout, he displayed the talent to represent, in a fresh and sincere way, the world which sourrounded him. His unique artistic perpective came not from an outsider formally educated in painting, but rather from a self-taught member of the indigenous community. He was killed on the 21^st of April, 1989 after painting the victims of a massacre of indigenous people in his hometown.

The school was founded in his name to help preserve the memory of a person who stood for the preservation of the customs and culture of the indigenous population of Guatemala. The school hopes to stand by these ideals.