Fronte[i]ras 07 – I International Meeting of Transdisciplinary Arts, a collaborative event organized by Binaural and Associação Cultural de Nodar (Portugal) and Alg-a (Spain), will end its program with a final collective exhibition of ten art pieces related to the theme of borders that were created during two simultaneous residencies, one in the rural community of Nodar (Portugal) and another in San Simón Island (Galicia, Spain).

The artists and pieces included in the exhibition are the following:

Vered Dror (Israel) – Souvenirs
Maria Idília Martins (Portugal, living in Venezuela) – Zapatos de Mi pueblo
Amaya González Reyes (Galicia, Spain) – Transgresión
António Pedro (Portugal) – Eu só quero ser (aquilo que sou)
Maksims Shentelevs (Latvia) – Soundscape Mapping
Carlos Suárez (Galicia, Spain) – A morte como Fronteira
Richard Lerman (USA) – Border / Algae / Acqua
Azul Blaseotto (Argentina) – Ardiente Árbol Genealógico
Leila Durán & Arturo Reboiras (Galicia, Spain) – Tempo Linear. Tempo Cíclico
Mona Higuchi (USA) – Ghost Planes

The exhibition will be open in the Rural Art Museum and Community Center of Carvalhais (S. Pedro do Sul, Portugal) between December 15th, 2007 and January 31st, 2008, and was installed in collaboration with students and teachers from the local crafts school, being the first time that these students (most of them with a rural background) had contact with contemporary art pieces.

Visits to the exhibition should be booked beforehand by calling to +351 918 951 857 or +351 916 432 585 or by sending an email to fronteiras07@cps-carvalhais.com

The Community Center of Carvalhais:

The Rural Art Museum of Carvalhais:

The exhibition poster (click on photo to enlarge image):

In the last performance of Fronte[i]ras 07 a surprisingly reunion happened between the Portuguese-Italian duo Rui Costa + Manuela Barile and Galician Nacho Muñoz a.k.a. Madamme Cell. These projects represented the two organizations responsible for transforming Fronte[i]ras 07 into a reality, Binaural from Portugal and Alg-a from Galicia, Spain.

The performance started with a powerful prepared piano improvisation by Madamme Cell, later joined by electronics from Rui and Manuela’s voice along with improbable sound objects such as plastic bag, portable glass, rubber tube and balloons. Rui and Manuela’s section was based in their ongoing project “La Scatola“, that is being presented in many cities across Europe.

The final result was outstanding, being the first time that both projects played together.

Here are the sounds of this very special performance (Barcelos Municipal Library Auditorium – September, 29th 2007) :

Binaural + Alg-a @ Fronte[i]ras 07 Play Now

The Latvian sound artist Maksims Shentelevs presented during Fronte[i]ras 07 a project that used recordings of mixed sounds made in specific acoustic environments of Nodar (water tanks, river banks, tree branches).

During the concert in Barcelos he created a composition using each of the three sound environments along with several percussion and string instruments (two of them built by the artist in Nodar, string instruments using burnt wood from a huge fire that almost destroyed the village two years ago).

Here is the audio from Maksims Shentelevs’ concert at the Municipal Library of Barcelos’ Auditorium (September, 29th 2007):

Maksims Shentelevs @ Fronte[i]ras 07 Play Now

The Portuguese composer, multi-instrumentist and filmmaker António Pedro developed during Fronte[i]ras 07 a very idiosincratic project, “I just want to be (what I am)”, that dealt with the urge to clarify the personal artistic borders. As a final result, António presented a multimedia performance, mixing live music with a prerecorded video conceived and shot at NOGS residency in Nodar, Portugal.

Here is the audio from António Pedro’s concert at the Municipal Library of Barcelos’ Auditorium (September, 29th 2007):

Antonio Pedro live @ Fronte[i]ras 07 Play Now

Fronte[i]ras 07 – 1st International Meeting of Transdisciplinary Arts was a wonderful experience for us. Along with the variety of artistic and theoretical aspects related to the issue of borders that were discussed and presented, the most important that happened was the opportunity to share experiences with such wonderful people as António Pedro, Maksims Shentelevs, Maria Idília Martins, Amaya González, Vered Dror, Bojana Bauer, Azul Blaseotto, Richard Lerman, Mona Higuchi, Arturo Reboiras, Leila Durán and Carlos Suárez (and the conference speakers, not to mention our dear galician co-organizers from Alg-a).

Below is a selection of the photos taken during the meeting:

The full photo set:

Luís Costa from Binaural and Roi Fernández from Alg-a (Galicia, Spain) were interviewed by Ricardo Lobo and Daniel Bento while in Barcelos, Portugal. The interview, that was broadcasted by Rádio Clube Português in October, 14th 2007, covered several issues related to both organization’s objectives and approaches and also the reasons to organize a cross-border symposium, Fronte[i]ras 07.

Ricardo Lobo and Daniel Bento are members of Audiência Zero, an organization that promotes cultural activites from both the North of Portugal and the Spanish region of Galicia.

Binaural and Alg-a: Radio interview @ RCP Play Now

Fronte[i]ras 07 – International Meeting of Transdisciplinary Arts
Performances | Exhibitions | Conferences | Artist Talks
www.fronteiras07.org

Organization:
Binaural (PT)
Alg-a (ES)

Residencies, Presentations and Conferences:
17 – 30 September 2007

Exhibitions:
2 October – 31 December 2007

Locations:
PT – Nodar, S. Pedro do Sul and Barcelos
ES – Pontevedra, Galicia

Fronte[i]ras 07 – International Meeting of Transdisciplinary Arts will seek to bring to attention multiple artistic readings for the concept of border, reflecting on its possible interpretations with a focus not only on the physical / geographical borders but also on their representation in ideological, cultural, psychological, virtual, and ability borders.

This event comprises a program of parallel artistic residencies in Galicia, Spain and Portugal Two simultaneous residencies will take place, one in Nodar Media Arts Residency Center (located in a small rural village in Portugal) and another on the outskirts of Pontevedra (Galicia, Spain). Several artists from different origins and backgrounds will gather during 10 days on each residency space for the development of art projects in close connection with social thinkers who will hold a critique observatory during the same period.

As a result of the work produced during the residencies, a final presentation of the developed projects will take place in the form of an itinerant exhibition, starting in Pontevedra and ending in Portugal. A parallel round of conferences and audiovisual presentations related to the proposed theme will also take place.

The meeting is organized by two cultural organizations from both sides of the Iberian border, Binaural (PT) and Alg-a (ES), that have strong affinities on their objectives and methodologies, combining an intervention on digital / intermedia arts with an artistic research deeply rooted on location and life.

Participants:

bojana bauer (rs/pt) | azul blaseotto (ar) | madamme cell (es) | rui costa & manuela barile (pt/it) | vered dror (il) | leila durán & arturo reboiras (es) | xavier fernández (gz) | amaya gonzález (es) | mona higuchi (us) | pedro jiménez (es) | richard lerman (us) | maria idília martins (pt/ve) | ibrahim niang (mr) | antónio pedro (pt) | maksims shentelevs (lv)| carlos suárez (es/ve) | isabel valverde (pt)

More info (full program, art projects and bios):
http://www.fronteiras07.org

Fronte[i]ras 07 – International Meeting of Transdisciplinary Arts

Dates: 17 to 30 September 2007
Organization: Binaural (Portugal) and Alg-a (Galicia)
Format: Artistic Residency + Symposium + Itinerant Exhibition

Open call for artistic projects : from 11 May to 22 June 2007

The central theme for the open call will be the concept of border (“fronteira”) in all its possible variants, a reflection on its multiple interpretations with a focus not only on the physical / geographical borders but also on their dissolution in ideological, cultural, virtual, and ability borders.

The artists can freely choose their artistic languages and tools (audio, video, performance, installation, intermedia, etc.).

This event will comprise a program of artistic residencies in Galicia and Portugal. Two simultaneous residencies will take place, one in Nodar (a small rural village in Portugal) and another on the outskirts of Pontevedra (Galicia).

Several artists from different origins and backgrounds will gather during 10 days on each residency space for the development of artistic projects in close connection with social thinkers who will hold a critique observatory during the same period.

As a result of the work produced during the residencies, a final presentation of the developed projects will take place in the form of an itinerant exhibition, starting in Pontevedra and ending in Portugal.

A parallel round of conferences and audiovisual artistic talks related to the proposed theme will also take place.

Full text of the open call (open or download):

Application form (download):

Additional information, here.

Photo: an old image of the Portuguese / Galician river Minho (or Miño) border