logo design by Luiz Guilherme
conceived and curated by DNV [dan'etvɐzmoʐnə], curatorial duo of Caroline Carrion & Denis Maksimov
Participating artists
Bogomir Doringer (NL), Foundland Collective (NL), Giuditta Vendrame (IT/NL), Bernd Oppl (AU), AVENIR INSTITUTE (EU), Bruno Baptistelli (BR), Jaime Lauriano (BR), Tiago Mestre (BR), Sonia Guggisberg (BR), Bruno Moreschi (BR), Carla Chaim (BR), Thiago Navas (BR), Fabio Tremonte (BR), Clarice Cunha (BR), Alessandra Duarte (BR), Lais Myrrha (BR), Mano Penalva (BR), Deolinda Aguiar (BR), Ivan Padovani (BR)
The Bureau is as a combination of multidisciplinary mechanisms, designed by the artists and curators, to mitigate growing political, social, economic and cultural precariousness, and consists of departments that address the most urgent public inquiries. Precariousness has never been an imperative for creation in Brazil and Latin American cultures in general; that is, in societies where precarious conditions are more often the rule than the exception. The Bureau is hosted by precarious, independent cultural spaces, many of them ran by artists and based on political will instead of institutional power. ‘Mitigating insecurity’ does not mean ultimately resolving it: mitigation is a provision of understanding, reflection and critical definition of the condition of existence and living in the environment of failed predictability. The insecurities that are addressed by the Bureau relate to local, national and international contexts, which are interconnected, interdependent and referential to one another.
When arriving to Bureau, the visitor will be faced with something that does not look like an exhibition: a waiting room with an installation, where they will get a number and a questionnaire with the intention of placing them in one of a few "insecurity profiles". Each profile gets a referral to a different “department” (each of them working at one of the associated spaces and created by invited artists), and, therefore, to a different exhibition parcours. The system of distribution and assignment is an artwork in itself by the invited artists and curators, as a result of collaborative process.
The project is aimed at generating discussion, critical thinking and reflection on the subject of precarious existence, risk-taking, illusive control and poetic ways to address it through the language of contemporary art. Universality of problematics addressed is demonstrated through multiplicity of mediums (installation, sculpture, painting, workshop, lecture-performance, street actions, etc.) and diversity of origins and practices of the invited Brazilian and international artists.
Spaces:
- Sao Art Space (Bureau)
- Ateliê Fidalga + Projeto Fidalga
- Espaço Vitrine
- Aquário
- Public spaces of Vila Madalena area
Context
The exhibition will take place in the context of Sao Paulo Biennial ‘Live Uncertainty’, one the most important and prestigious contemporary art platforms in Latin America and the second oldest in the world after Venice. The dialogue with the Biennial (some of the invited artists are participating in the Biennial main project as well) and themed events will secure publicity and necessary attention for providing the best possible impact.