Report from Brazil -3

Travessias at Maré favela in Rio de Janeiro.



Travessias is an exhibition curated by DANIELA LABRA, FREDERICO COELHO and LUISA DUARTE which takes on the virtually impossible task of making in one of Rio's largest favellas.

The exhibition includes work by artist group AVAF, who invite the local population to get free detergent in exchange for empty bottles and Marcos Chaves who plays with the name of the favela and the words complexo (complex) and simples (simple) to inspire respect among the residents. Henrique Oliveira manages the magic act of making a formalist sculpture in the favela and which works beautifully. More images here and more info here.

Report from Brazil - 4

Inhotim Contemporary Art and Botanical garden.



Inhotim is an amazing art experience. You can drive north from Sao Paulo or Rio. The latter is extremely beautiful. But the roads are not great when you get close to Belo Horizonte, so rent a decent car. At Inhotim they have an extraordinary collection, magnificent garden and the architecture is breathtaking. You find more info here and more images here.



One of the most remarkable aspects of the collection is the that they have created a special building for the 5 Cosmococa installations by Hélio Oiticica and Neville D’Almeida. In one you can go for a swim a pool while you listen to a piece by John Cage.

TIME CAPSULES AND CONDITIONS OF NOW

06.01.2012 - 12.01.2012 Opening reception: 05.01.2012 from 6.30

Part of our ongoing series of Figures, exploring how knowledge can be co-produced and shared, Fig.4: Time Capsules and Conditions of Now is an artistic research project initiated by curator and art critic Fatos Üstek and supported by Vision Forum, Linköpings Universitet, Sweden. The project investigates the notion of encounter through the introduction of a variety of conditions where the reception and recollection of the 'present moment' diverges. The research team is made up of artists, curators and writers who have together embarked upon heterogeneous explorations of the conditions of now in the continuously shifting constellation of time-presence-gravity. Lisa Skuret, Vanda Playford, Kaz, Ole Hagen, Soledad Garcia and Jean Matthee, have undertaken experimentation at sites of historical figures such as Sir John Soane, T.S. Eliot, E. Swedenborg and S. Freud along with first-person experiences of shamanic journeying with Zoe Bran, gardening with quantum physicist Julian Barbour and meditating at 10-day vipassana silence retreat. For this phase of the project the artists and curators in shifting from an engagement within the group, have used their research and experiences to create objects of reflection and interaction for an audience. The project simultaneously takes the form of a publication and an exhibition and is the outcome of several group actions, but the physical manifestation in the space is also a zone where time speeds up or slows down to reveal the multi-dimensional yet immanently insubstantial omnipresence of the eternal now. The project playfully activates a flux of encounters and transformational objects while the artworks take on eclectic forms: a sound, a letter, a photograph, a diagram, a scent, a journey, a lecture and a book. David Roberts Art Foundation Fitzrovia 111 Great Titchfield Street London W1W 6RY www.davidrobertsartfoundation.com Opening times: Tuesday to Friday 10am - 6pm Saturday 11am - 4pm (Nearest tube: Oxford Circus/GreatPortland Street)

Report from Brazil - 6

In Congonhas (Congonhas do Campo) which is a historical city located in Minas Gerais you find an amazing church and sculptures by the mysterious character Aleijadinho (b. Antônio Francisco Lisboa; 1730 or 1738 – 1814). The church is literally situated at the top of the town, so it is not for the faint of heart to drive there. But once you get to the top, you know it is worth it. More images here.

OPEN CALL! CUCHIFRITOS GALLERY/PROJECT SPACE CURATORIAL PROPOSALS- DEADLINE, JANUARY 31, 2012

CUCHIFRITOS Gallery/Project Space is now accepting proposals for our 2013 calendar!

We invite independent curators and those wishing to submit a proposal to do so by using the following submission policies & guidelines:
http://www.aai-nyc.org/cuchifritos/Guidelines.html

In the spring, a curatorial advisory committee composed of curators and art professionals from diverse backgrounds will choose exhibits from the submissions received.

CUCHIFRITOS mission is to act as a forum for exploring the fundamental ideas, issues and concerns in contemporary art, to highlight the work of underrepresented artists, and to make a connection with the local community of the Lower East Side through the medium of contemporary art.

The gallery’s location is designed to underscore the community value of The Essex Street Market by provoking interaction and debate between the multi-cultural local community and the artwork presented. We are particularly interested in exhibits which might relate in some way to the Essex Street Market or the Lower East Side.
Please note: curators who also make art may not include their own work in an exhibit.

Please send proposals to aai@aai-nyc.org no later than January 31, 2012.

CUCHIFRITOS is located at 120 Essex Street inside the Essex Street Market. F, J, M, Z trains to Essex-Delancey.
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 12-6pm

CUCHIFRITOS is a program of Artists Alliance, Inc.(AAI) and is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. This program is made possible by public funds from The New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties. We thank the following for their generous support: Foundation for Contemporary Arts, The Greenwall Foundation, The New York City Economic Development Corporation, members of Artists of Artists Alliance Inc. Special thanks go to our team of dedicated volunteers, without whom this program would not be possible.

ON-CURATING.ORG Issue 12: Reinterpreting collections

Nowadays we can observe clear changes in relation to working with collections. One change is the comeback of the collection as the basis of the exhibition programme. At the same time, this implies a factor of site-specificity and reflects the origin of the museum. However, even if the collection is creatively varied, the core audience still prefers event exhibitions, since it has been trained to look for well-known names. By trusting in familiar names, visitors perhaps hope not to be disappointed.

What is the significance of the collection nowadays, and how can audience interest be won? The insight into some successful and some criticized projects, each irradiating the theme from another perspective, enables us to make up our mind about concepts for curatorial work on collections. In this issue of On-Curating.org, our aim was to find out what possibilities there are for drawing new attention to the collection from visitors, artists, and curators: not only to its highlights, but to the collection as a whole, and to its history. This issue also explores which contexts can trigger new interpretations of old works, and methods of affecting museum structures from the outside so that they are less likely to fossilize.

Download your own copy here.

Report from Brazil - 2

Located very close to the botanical garden and in the lush onslaught of foliage of Parque Lage and underlooking the famous christ sculpture in rio, you find Escola de Arte Visoais do Parque Lage. The place is amazingly beautiful and currently there is a very interesting exhibition by João Modé who invites you to play music for the plants with him - magical and inspiring. More info here.

Report from Brazil -1

A Bolha (Bubble) Editora in Rio publish great graphic novels and contemporary fiction. Find out more about their activities here.

Music Covers in Paris

Curated by: Sébastien Ruiz

with: Fredde, Mathias Duperray, Sarah Esteje, Nadja Fejtö, Jacques Floret, Anne Fontenelle, Andreas Fohr, Jochen Gerner, Koyo Hara, Charlotte Hardy, Hippolyte Hentgen, Christopher Hittinger, Armand Jalut, Tangui Jossic, Violette Lapin, Liberatore, Lily L’éclair, Luz, David le Simple, Guillaume Long, Antoine Marquis, Fanny Michaëlis, Renaud Monfourny, Morgan Navarro, François Olislaeger, Émilie Ouvrard, Placid, Alain Pillon, Benoît Preteseille, Prosperi Buri, Mathieu Renard, Franck Rezzak, Anouk Ricard, Ruppert et Mulot, Clotilde Salmon, Jean-François Sanz, Marjolaine Sirieix, David Scrima, Space Invaders, Frédéric Tacer, Samon Takahashi, Arnaud Viviant…

More info here.

Partner driven cooperation grants

Vision Forum is proud to announce that we have been awarded two grants from SIDA/Statens kulturråd to develop the collaborations in China. More info here. One grant has been awarded for Effektivia and the River and another for the project Think Again.

Santa Fe Institute Videos

The Santa Fe Institute is a very interesting institution working with complex systems and they present a lot of interesting lectures online. Who could not be seduced by a talk with this title?

‪Can Financial Engineering Cure Cancer, Solve the Energy Crisis, and Stop Global Warming?‬

You can find all their You tube videos here.

Marie's website

Vision Forum Member Marie Proyart who made the amazing design for the Invisible Generation non-catalogue has just created an amazing web-site with all her inspiring graphic design. Have a look, it is a true journey! Tickets here.