Day 3 Villa Alegre: Visiting two neighbourhood groups

Day 3 of the residency... content in the beauty and calm of the space and the intensity of the conversations. Working hard to make sense of the language, I am grateful to have this opportunity of insight into the art world here in Latin America.  Visiting the neighborhood groups

It was a pleasure to share the afternoon hours with the neighbourhood group of female artisans, particularly after having seen the detail of their weaving work in the towns museum in the morning.  An interesting group discussion began with a focus on the commercial and circled gradually deeper and deeper into more personal and communal issues and the potential for self-expression through art.

In the evening we met with a second neighbourhood group and heard their thoughts about their difficulties as a community.  In this second meeting particularly I was aware of what a privilege it is to be a foreigner from afar included in these very real an practical local discussions.  What was interesting too were the discussions amongst the artists afterwards making sense of the what had been discussed (including a lot of doubts about the reality or not of the 'problems' discussed) and beginning to think about what we might do as a group over the course of the upcoming week.

Today is 14^th February, St. Valentine’s Day, a day in the UK we exchange gifts and cards to celebrate our relationships with one another (most often partners, but family and friends too if you like).  As I was putting together this image of hearts for my loved ones back home it occurred to me that the image could also be useful for the residency particularly at this point on our third day while we are contemplating as a group of newcomers meeting how best to exchange and share our artistic gifts with one another.

So perhaps this image reflects this quality of heartfelt gifting between artists and their communities.  I was certainly impressed during the portfolio presentations yesterday by the heartfelt commitment each artist here has to their particular methods of practice and our different ways of engaging our audiences, offering them ways to voice their feelings and points of view or offering new perspectives on the familiar.

Reflecting on the interchangeable gift of art… and enjoying the smell of oranges.

J