CHANGING PLACES / ESPACIOS REVELADOS in Argentina

Casting an eye on the city’s “blind spots”

Mariana Tirantte and Mariano Pensotti used more than 100 model houses to transform the Tornquist Bank into a “City in Dreams.”
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Federico León showed the last film at a cinema before it was closed and turned into a parking lot.
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Magdalena Arau traced the journey of a Spanish galleon that was discovered and relocated during a real estate project.
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At Puente Fuerroviario, where trains once traveled from Puerto Madero to La Boca, Beatriz Catani performed scenes from Dante's “Inferno.”
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La Ribot transformed an empty room into an exhibition space with a five-hour performance and countless words.
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The long-running performance of “Some Imperatives” by Tim Etchells decorated the city with a series of poetic imperatives.
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“Garden State” by MAMAZA called on residents to turn an abandoned building in La Boca into a green oasis using plants.
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Impressions from CHANGING PLACES in Buenos Aires
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In 2014, CHANGING PLACES / ESPACIOS REVELADOS swapped the confines of the theater for the vast stage of the city in Buenos Aires. Abandoned apartment blocks and businesses, imposing vacant banks, a railroad bridge spanning the Riachuelo, terraces high above the city, and even walls and facades in public spaces were converted into stages by outstanding theater and performance artists. 

Shifting places, shifting perspectives

From 27 March to 6 April 2014, when the doors of long-vacant buildings were opened to more than 25,000 visitors from all age groups and social classes, more than one significant shift took place. It mobilized people in the city to open up new  spaces in two of the city’s districts, Microcentro and La Boca, which were connected by shuttle buses. The locations themselves and their architecture were transformed by the interventions, creating new perspectives on urban spaces and new lines to be drawn on the map of the city.

On the path of change

Artists from Argentina, other Latin American countries, and Europe picked up visible and invisible traces left behind by the city as it changed over the years. They shifted time and space in their work, and evoked the imagination, doubts, and hopes they gleaned from the people and their city. They also occupied spaces with words and sent messages into the public sphere, a space repurposed as a central element in establishing a shared personal identity. Residents, artists, and official representatives spoke to one other, forging new plans for the reuse of abandoned buildings.

Artists

Mariana Tirantte, Mariano Pensotti, Federico León, Magdalena Arau, Alejandro Tantanian, Beatriz Catani, Rabih Mroué, Leonardo Moreira, Julian Hetzel, Hugo Glendinning, Tim Etchells, La Ribot, Tim Etchells, William Forsythe, and MAMAZA

In cooperation with:

Fundación M.I.R.A., Acumar, Edificio Tornquist, Palacio Reconquista, Galería Güemes, Edificio Bencich, Edificio Lanusse, Banco Hipotecario, Secretaría Legal y Técnica de la Nación, Estacionamiento Cuadras, Cine Teatro Dante, Museo de la Ciudad, Casa del Sur, Barraca Peña, IUNA, Centro Rural de Arte.