The “Despre Ploi, Râuri, Șuvoaie…” project, initiated by the Developing Art Association, proposes just such a transdisciplinary artistic research, anchored in three geographical, cultural and symbolic points: the Danube Delta, the Jiului Valley and the Icoanei and Ioanid Parks in Bucharest.
A team of visual artists, choreographers, anthropologists, ethnologists and psychologists will work to develop a common language through which they can research and communicate about the relationship between humans and water, focusing on the evolution of the multiple valences and meanings of the word and gesture of a wash, in each of the spaces included in the project.
A cultural (al)chemistry project
In chemistry, water is called the “universal solvent” because it has the ability to dissolve more substances than any other liquid. This unique property has also been understood from a cultural point of view – water, as a symbol, is what brings us closest to our own essence – it washes away and simplifies everything that is “extra”, down to the basics. If we talk about stagnant water, it becomes the element in which everything mixes in its simplest form, leaving room for life to flow. If we talk about running water, it reveals and exposes. And a water oasis in the middle of the urban environment is the most direct way to reconnect with nature. That is why the About Rains, Rivers, Suvoaie project proposes three field research sessions:
– Between May 13 and 27, in the Danube Delta
– Between July 17 and 31, in Petroșani, on the Jiului Valley
– Between August 5 and 15, in the Ioanid and Icoanei Parks in Bucharest
These researches aim to connect the transdisciplinary team with local communities, as well as cultural and environmental institutions and associations in each location, in order to establish a working methodology and to design a performative route specific to each targeted area.
In autumn, the results of the project, both from the perspective of choreographic art and visual arts, will be presented in public events that will include a photo-video exhibition at Rezidența9, discussions with the artists involved, the exhibition of the performance routes designed for the Ioanid Parks and Icoana, as well as the editing of a zine that will detail the working methodology developed, in order to become a source of inspiration for future projects.
Open call looking for a collaborator
Each member of the “About Rains, Rivers, Suvoaie” project team is already, in their own artistic and academic practices, in areas of intersection between disciplines, which facilitates its development from the start, both from an artistic point of view and from the aspect creating a collaborative methodology that can be passed on as a product in itself. In this spirit, the team also announces an open call in search of an emerging artist and/or researcher, passionate about the connection between various forms of art, anthropology, ethnology and sociology, who will have the opportunity to join this innovative transdisciplinary project as an observer. The call is open between 18 April and 2 May and interested parties are invited to apply using this form. Those interested must be available for all three periods of activity in the field, and accommodation will be provided.
A team like a whirlwind of inspiration
The Developing Art Association has developed and coordinated a number of interdisciplinary cultural projects that prioritize contemporary dance, mixed media, education and research in the visual arts. The “About Rains, Rivers, Suvoaie” project benefits from the artistic coordination of Alina Ușurelu, one of the co-founders of the association, a multimedia artist working on the border between visual arts and choreography, and Cristina Lilienfeld, co-founder of the AREAL collective – Space for Choreographic Development , with an artistic practice closely related to the discipline of psychology and Maria Bîrsan, curator and responsible for the production and curation of the exhibitions and mixed-media installations that will be hosted at Rezidența 9 and the Photography Resource Center in Bucharest.
From the field of visual arts, they are joined by photographer Ema Alexandrescu, founder of Lumenesc, involved in multiple art therapy projects and personal development through photography, and Gabriel Durlan, director, editor and videographer focused on documentary and experimental film production. In the area of creative writing, Rucsandra Pop is located at the confluence of anthropology and storytelling, with an important contribution to bring from a sociological perspective as well.
Alex Bălășescu is a professor at Casa Paleologu and the founder of Re-Genera Group, using international expertise in anthropology to connect ecology and technology in a humanistic framework of thought. The ethnological part of the research is coordinated by Georgiana Vlahbei, who works both at the Romanian Peasant Museum and in the team of multidisciplinary artists Plastic Art Performance Collective.
The sound design part that will be integrated into the multimedia installations produced as a result of the research is provided by Lala Misosniky, sonic artist and performer passionate about field recording.
This project understands that creative torrents are born from joining drops of inspiration from various sources. Water always suggests directions of movement and thought, and the gesture of “washing” brings with it connotations of great depth. It may seem counterintuitive, but this multidisciplinary research at the intersection of art, humanities and ecology seems surprisingly… clear.
