Press release | Arts & Culture | 25. May 2016

New editions of performing arts academies in Latin America strengthen structures for exchange and collaboration on the continent

EXPERIMENTA SUR June 1-11, 2016, Bogotá and Buenaventura (Colombia)
MOVIMIENTO SUR: July 7-28, 2016, Santiago de Chile and Valparaíso (Chile)

Since 2012/2013, the EXPERIMENTA SUR and MOVIMIENTO SUR academies offer space for artists to reflect, experiment, and collaborate on the Latin American continent. The academies operate at the junction between art and the wider public, providing new societal impulses. The academies, initiated by Siemens Stiftung and other partners, are taking place for the fifth time. This year, the academies will focus on spatial-temporal relations, the ethics of actions, and feedback methods in art and society.

The academies emphasize experimental forms of performing arts and contemporary dance, fusing together artistic and academic approaches across genres.  In labs, discussion forums, and workshops, over 100 artists and thinkers from 13 Latin American countries and other parts of the world work together to create something new. Performances and presentations provide an important boost to the cultural scenes and give the public a glimpse into the latest developments, making the academies fixed components of the cross-border societal dialog in the region.

EXPERIMENTA SUR in Colombia: Experimental works debut in Buenaventura

As a “floating platform,” the 2016 edition of EXPERIMENTA SUR will take place outside of Bogotá for the first time and include Buenaventura. The port city on the Pacific coast is an important academic locale, even if the city was never able to benefit from it. Over 85 percent of the residents are African-Colombians, most of whom live in poverty. For many internally displaced Colombians along the Pacific coast, the city is the first place they go. Director Emilio García Wehbi will work with a group of 24 young artists against the backdrop of this social powder keg, and the results of their artistic research will be presented to the public. Further research activities, discussions, and presentations will be conducted with the Programa de Arte Dramático der Universidad del Valle.

This year’s EXPERIMENTA SUR emphasizes the relation of time and space – from geopolitical questions to the concept of “standard time.” Mark Formanek seeks to turn this idea on its head with a public 24-hour installation performance that will see about 100 students of the Escuela Taller construct the passage of time minute for minute.

Kate McIntosh is bringing her live installation “Worktable” to Bogotá as part of the academy. Armed with tools, safety glasses, and instructions, the artist from New Zealand sends visitors through the various rooms of Mapa Teatro. Each person determines the extent that an object maintains its actual shape or is formed into a new one.

These expeditions into the ethical dimension of action in space and time are also encompassed in the labs, discussion forums, and lectures of Venezuelan curator José Luis Blondet, sociologist Laymert García dos Santos, Colombian director Alejandro González Puche, and the productions of performance artist Antonia Baehr.

MOVIMIENTO SUR in Chile: Feedback methods for developing new contemporary dance pieces

MOVIMIENTO SUR is seeking to expand the scope of contemporary dance and collaboratively integrate different perspectives into the productions. Over the course of three weeks, Latin American choreographers, dramaturges, artists, and architects will work with feedback methods to develop new pieces in Santiago and Valparaíso. Manolis Tsipos presents some of the techniques developed in the DasArts master’s program in Amsterdam that ensure a differentiated response and enable a productive exchange about artistic work. Artistic strategies will be tested and challenged in practice and in theory to evaluate the effectiveness of ideas and develop them further.

The discussion about the feedback effect of art in society continues in labs put on by Brazilian choreographer Cristian Duarte and performance artist and Eleonora Fabião from Rio de Janeiro. In addition to the artists’ labs, workshops open to local artists will take place as well. Serbia’s Ana Vujanović and Marta Popivoda will work with artists from Santiago de Chile and Valparaíso on the concept of democracy and society. Cynthia Edul from Buenos Aires and Michelle Moura from Curitiba will host a seminar on dramaturgy as a tool for dialog between art and society. This gives the academy an external impact as well, serving as performance space, testing lab, public discourse channel, and networking opportunity.

With two structural changes, MOVIMIENTO SUR is set to continue on a permanent basis: First, curators Catarina Saraiva and Rocío Rivera are at the helm of the program. In addition, a newly-created foundation, Fundación Movimiento Sur, will be in charge of the project’s partner network and fundraising going forward.

A solid network: Partners of the academies

The academies are being supported by a network of partner organizations for the fifth year running. Among the key partners are, in Colombia: Mapa Teatro and Goethe-Institut Colombia; in Chile, Goethe-Institut Chile, Consejo Nacional de Cultura y las Artes, Parque Cultural de Valparaíso, escenalborde – Artes Escénicas Contemporáneas and NAVE. Once again, an international stipend program coordinated with the Goethe-Institutes of the region highlights the emphasis on young artists from Latin America.

Related links

Program EXPERIMENTA SUR

Program MOVIMIENTO SUR

Facebook page EXPERIMENTA SUR

Facebook page MOVIMIENTO SUR

Twitter channel EXPERIMENTA SUR

Twitter channel MOVIMIENTO SUR