Residência ao Acaso

Luciana Brito Gallery is transforming its space into a free territory, open to the new connections proposed by the exhibition Residência ao Acaso [Random Residency], whose concept fosters an unprecedented dialogue between four different artist residency projects in Brazil. The four projects invited for this curatorial exercise are: Chão (Maranhão), Fidalga (São Paulo), JA.CA – Art and Technology Center (Minas Gerais), and LABVERDE (Amazonas). Each of these projects selected two artists, listed here in alphabetical order: Alisson Damasceno (Belo Horizonte, MG), Laíza Ferreira (Ananindeua, PA), Dinho Araújo (São Luís, MA), Luis83 (São Paulo, SP), Trojany (Icó, CE), Renata Padovan (São Paulo, SP), Sayako Oguri (Gifu, Japan), and Tieta Macau (Fortaleza, CE). The aim is to combine and integrate the diversity arising from these different discourses and origins, along with the individual backgrounds that typically drive these productions, through a proposal that considers the nomadic freedom inherent to artist residencies.

The initially open theme of this exercise charts a curatorial path that runs counter to the traditional one. The featured artworks have been freely chosen to form a selection shaped by associations shared in common among these productions. In this challenge, creative freedom has operated as a unifying force to link the aesthetic and conceptual diversity of the various artistic discourses.  This exercise also incorporates the individual background of each of the artists – including the knowledge they acquired in the artist residency projects around which this exhibition is constructed.

The four projects have different focuses: Chão proposes exchanges between experiences from the historic center of São Luís do Maranhão and other parts of the world; JA.CA, based in Minas Gerais, encourages experimentation rooted in relationships with education, architecture, and design; LABVERDE, from the Amazon region, acts as a transdisciplinary platform focused on the environment; Projeto Fidalga, a traditional art residency project in the São Paulo scene, promotes encounters among visual arts professionals to create the emotional connections that art experiences can provide.

About Chão (Maranhão)

Artists: Tieta Macau (Fortaleza, CE) and Dinho Araújo (São Luís, MA)

Founded in 2015 and located in the Historic Center of São Luís, Chão has played a fundamental role in fostering and forming exchanges between other states and countries, acting as a key agent in the promotion of the region’s emerging production, creating fields for work, research, and experimentation. Open to various trends of local and national culture, the project is committed to the questions of inclusion and professionalization of work processes in the cultural field and its collective dimension. With a focus on nonconventional training practices, it emerged with the aim of providing environments conducive to dialogue and processes that not only expand knowledge but also foster its direct exchange with the public and with the various expressions within the context of contemporary culture. Recently designated as a Ponto de Cultura [Culture Point].

About Projeto Fidalga (São Paulo)

Artists: Sayako Oguri (Gifu, Japan) and Luiz83 (São Paulo, SP)

Projeto Fidalga, an offshoot of Ateliê Fidalga, arose in 2011. Organized by visual artists Sandra Cinto and Albano Afonso, it is an independent, nonprofit space dedicated to experimental projects and artist residencies, aimed at promoting the exchange of ideas and reflections in the visual arts, architecture, urban planning, design, and education. The new space, renovated by the architectural firm 23 Sul, features three exhibition rooms, multipurpose areas, and accommodations to host artists, curators, architects, and educators. In addition to the artist residency project by the name of Residência Paulo Reis, in partnership with Aomori Contemporary Art Centre, Appleton, and DIDAC, Projeto Fidalga also runs the PONTE Program, in which a Brazilian artist is invited to create an artistic work in dialogue with the resident artists, as well as the ATIVAÇÃO Program, in which artists residing in São Paulo are invited to activate the spaces.

About JA.CA (Minas Gerais)

Artists: Trojany (Icó, CE) and Alisson Damasceno (Belo Horizonte, MG)

JA.CA – Centro de Arte e Tecnologia is a nonprofit civil society organization that carries out and fosters research, projects, and experimentation in the field of arts, in close dialogue with education, architecture, and design. It conducts activities at its headquarters, located in the Jardim Canadá district of the city of Nova Lima, in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte (MG), as well as at other locations and in partner institutions. Currently, in addition to dedicating itself to projects in the surrounding district, JA.CA also runs the Arrudas – Pesquisa em Artes project in the hipercentro [central hub] of Belo Horizonte. The project began in 2010 as an international artist residency program and currently has a structure for lodging, shared living spaces, a studio and a library, as well as woodworking and metalworking laboratories. Since it was founded, JA.CA has hosted more than 100 artists, artist collectives, curators, and researchers who come to conduct research and collaborative activities focused on the local context. With a diversified approach and international recognition, JA.CA has a long track record of experience in the execution and management of projects, bringing public and private institutions together in encounters and collaborative actions.

About LABVERDE (state of Amazônia)

Artists: Dayrel Teixeira (Manaus, AM) and Renata Padovan (São Paulo, SP)

Created in 2013, LABVERDE is a transdisciplinary platform based in the Amazon region that organizes artist residencies, lectures, exhibitions, festivals, workshops, and publications, centered around the development of artistic expressions about the environment. Artists, scientists, indigenous individuals, and other people with various sorts of knowledge work together to raise awareness about nature and give voice to it, seeking to create new ways of existing and interacting with the natural environment and to conceive new approaches to current ecosystems. Founded by a collective of women in partnership with the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), the platform is led by Lilian Fraiji, in charge of the artistic curatorship, with production by Tammy Cavalcante and guidance from ecologist Flávia Santana. For every new project, a diverse network of local and international professionals and institutions is brought together, united by their shared commitment to preserving the socio-biodiversity of natural ecosystems.