Anna VII — una Lección de Español

* final picture with all performers.x at the E.P.I III Lota, photo © Mario Morena Krauss *

my final report on the participation of BA C and E.P.I. 2012

The BA C und E.P.I festivals are held to strengthen international exchange and the position of artists here in Chile. In Santiago, the important international festival DEFORMES, in which I participated in 2008, takes place biennially. The concern to create spaces and access to performance away from the big centres and the fact that Chilean artists often cannot accept invitations to other (e.g. European) festivals because they do not receive state or private support for their travel are sometimes a reason to invite artists from other South American countries and other continents. The organisation for this is done with front-line labour. All this not only generates cohesion, but also creates a strong impetus to reflect social, historical and local references in the performances. From the daily discussions, lectures and articles (e.g. «Performance, El Cuerpo en Subversion» in «Bufé, Magazin de Cultura» www.bufemagazin.cl) on performance art and the two festivals, it can be read that the South American performance artists speak a lot about the art of the body: «El Cuerpo hablá»! The aim is to create a new body, to reinvent the body, to restore it through performance: «Performance is testimonial and not conceptual» and »acto de meditation».

I notice differences not only in the approach but also in the interpretation of the concept of performance. I think that our different living spaces and conditions bring this with them. For me, 'body' is not so much the issue, but rather how we deal with space. One explanation may be that Switzerland is professionalised in all areas and space is rare and expensive, as well as my past and 'intoxication' with postmodern dance, which points to the conceptual approach in my work. These differences have been the subject of interesting conversations with artists, which are still ongoing and have only just begun. Discussion and exchange continue via email and facebook. Only a few artists are fluent in English, so a knowledge of Spanish is essential if you want to get involved in the discussions.

Alvaro Pereda and the artists in Lota told me that my participation and that of the other artists from abroad and other continents had been very important, because the 'appearance' of this art form in rather provincial spaces is still new, and they would definitely need this support. The artists are interested in exchange and maintain it actively via the internet, especially Facebook.

The artists in Lota live in a rural-industrial society that is undergoing a major transformation. Lota is still poor because the coal mines were closed from one day to the next in the 1990s. The town and region is in the process of preparing itself for tourism with the help of the state and creating a new identity for itself, leaving behind its mining past, which is still omni-present in many areas.
The performances have not only generated a specific 'performance and cultural audience', as is usual at (big) festivals. In Lota, the same students from the "Colegio Padre Marwel Dalzon" accompanied us the whole week, along with other audiences. And it can be said that the performances also and above all 'went to the people', since most of them took place in public spaces, in the midst of everyday life, which led to encounters with children and their mothers, with retired people, students and the unemployed-

full final report on BA C and E.P.I. in German   ...   final report with images