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Luanda Smooth and Rave

10/10/2009
EVENTO 2009: Angolan artists take on Bordeaux art scene
Chilala Moco photographs at Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, France.
After having been the highlight of such international platforms as the African Pavilion of the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007, the Angolan artists represented by the Sindika Dokolo Foundation exhibit and perform in the French town of Bordeaux. Evento, the new bordelaise biennial is turning the wine-producing region into a cultural hub.

Evento 2009 opens up the city, from art venues to public spaces, with more than 50 artistic, theoretical and performative interventions on the theme of Collective Intimacy, the concept proposed by its curator Didier Fiúza Faustino who states that:
“Now is the hour for the expression of a collective intimacy such as only cities can really harbor. Cities belonging to everyone as well as to each individual. Cities where common and private interests are no longer at odds, so that a sensitive, common heritage may be constructed […]
In the same way that live arts must reclaim the center, the city must be given back to its inhabitants, in a genuine spirit of sharing. Let each individual claim their own share of city intimacy and choose to protect it or to expose it if they wish. Let us give everyone a choice to recreate the urban environment in accordance with their desire."

Luanda Smooth and Rave, curated by Fernando Alvim, Director of the Luanda Triennial, in collaboration with the Sindika Doloko Foundation, will indeed be showcased at the Grand Théâtre – Opéra de Bordeaux. "Something of a revolution, says Bordeaux-based Africultures art critic Virginie Andriamirado, since this cultural institution has never hosted an event of the sort!”

Fernando Alvim introduces the Angolan participation to Evento with these words: “Evento offers a veritable immersion in Angolan art, through the presentation of a continually experimenting city that never ceases to reinvent itself: Angola’s capital Luanda. The columned porch, the reception area and halls present original works, photographs, videos and installations, allowing the vitality and richness of the Angolan and African art scene to interact with the classical architecture and atmosphere of the Grand Théâtre.
"We intend to approach the city of Luanda from an evolving, spherical perspective, from no fixed observation point. This emotionally organic project provides a free-floating platform for the observation of recent evolutions of a generous and inclusive city. By way of diverse disciplines and media, the artists offer a free, autonomous and sensitive interpretation of the hybrid and temporal trajectory of this nation-city. A frenetic urban reality lends its framework to the trajectory of a perfectly smooth utopia."

Luanda Smooth and Rave will feature: Bamba, Ihosvanny, Paulo Kapela, Kiluanji, Chilala Moco, Nástio Mosquito, N’Dilo Mutima, Jorge Palma, Pocas Pascoal, Nguxi dos Santos, Orlando Sergio + Paulo Azevedo, Marita Silva, Cláudia Veiga and Yonamine.

Evento 2009: 9 - 18 October
Bordeaux (FRANCE)

For further information visit Evento 2009 (http://evento2009.org/site/en/category/participants/curators/fernando-alvim/).