Search for other papers by Mariagrazia Muscatello in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Ndèye Mané Touré in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Francesco Venturi in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Benjamin Ross Nicholson in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Gavin Krastin in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Omar Rajeh in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Saman Hajimohammad in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Tea Tupajić in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
All currencies in US Dollar
A distinctive trait of the Chilean art scene, its insular condition came about as a consequence of the 1973 coup d’état, which interrupted foreign relations for a long time. The situation is only now being reversed, with local artistic production still being restricted to a homegrown market and audiences. Within this national circuit of the arts, almost entirely centered in the city of Santiago, artistic work is mostly limited to the activity of graduates and faculty from metropolitan universities, such as the Universidad de Chile and the Universidad Católica. The trend is now being reversed thanks to recent social events, primarily the 2019 uprisings or the increased market value of lithium, which put Chile back at the center of the global geopolitical agenda. In addition, a shift in media attention toward the art of indigenous peoples, which peaked in 2022, with examples such as the Venice Biennale, has allowed artists like Cecilia Vicuña, active since the seventies, to enter the so-called star system of art.
Contributor Notes
Mariagrazia Muscatello is an Italian art critic and independent curator who lives and works in Santiago de Chile. She holds an MA in art criticism and communication, and is currently a PhD candidate in philosophy (aesthetics and art theory) at the University of Chile in co-tutelage with the University Ca’ Foscari (Venice, Italy). Her research focuses on biennials as an aesthetic system of contemporary art. She is co-founder of the Curatorial Office project, having curated exhibitions in Chile and abroad, and writes for several magazines such as Artischock (Chile), the Italian publications Flash Art, L'Ordine, and Artribune.
Ndèye Mané Touré holds an MA in business administration from the African Institute of Management (IAM Dakar), heads MAKEDA Productions, an artist production and management company. She managed the 1er Temps contemporary dance company for ten years (2010–2020) and coordinated the Cie Fatou Cissé dance company's tour in 2015. She also manages Côté Jardin, a taste and culinary laboratory bringing together agriculture, art, culture, astronomy, and technology in relationship to our daily lives.
Francesco Venturi is an Italian musician. He has been curating concerts since 2012 and is co-founder of the venue Spettro in Brescia. As a composer and voice artist, Venturi has scored award-winning productions across cinema and live arts and has performed throughout Europe as a soloist and with various ensembles since 1999. A dedicated researcher, he has lectured at the Milan Conservatory and published scholarly works. He is currently a PhD candidate at Kingston University London.
Benjamin Ross Nicholson is a performer, musician, and researcher. He recently completed his PhD in Media Arts + Practice at the University of Southern California and now teaches at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design. His work focuses on white supremacist neoliberalism, its relationship to death and dying in the United States, and how this relationship is disclosed through performance. He is particularly fascinated by corpses and potatoes.
Gavin Krastin is an interdisciplinary artist straddling the worlds of theatre and live art performance, both educator and curator with an interest in the body's representation, limitation and operation in alternative, layered spaces. For Gavin the body is a medium for subversion, slippage and challenge. He performs, exhibits and teaches across South Africa and internationally. He currently lectures at Rhodes University, Makhanda, and is a PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town's Centre for Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies.
Tea Tupajić (b. Sarajevo, 1984) is a Croatian theatre and film director who investigates the potential of art to confront controversial political and personal issues. Her works that have been presented internationally include LICHT I-X (2023); DARK NUMBERS (2018); Spy School (2016); The Disco (2015); Variete Europe “Orpheus” (2013); Objects’ Game (2012); The Curators’ Piece (in collaboration with Petra Zanki, 2011); and La maladie de la mort (2009). Her first feature-length film, Darkness There and Nothing More (2021), premiered at the IDFA Envision competition. She is also a published writer and served as a guest editor for the performing arts magazine Frakcija No. 55 (see interview in TURBA 1.1).
Saman Hajimohammad is an Iranian dance professional, choreographer, and educator, currently pursuing her research in the graduate program in dance at Florida State University. As a fitness enthusiast, she has also studied sports science and exercise physiology, kinesiology, and anatomy. She has toured her theatrical productions, including Fence and The Coming and Going of the Spring, across the United States, Iran, and beyond. As a dance instructor, she teaches in performing arts academies across the United States, Canada, India, the Middle East.
Omar Rajeh is a choreographer, dancer, founder and artistic director of Maqamat. Initially based in Lebanon since 2002, he moved and set up his company in Lyon in 2020. He is the founder of the Beirut International Platform of Dance (BIPOD), Takween intensive training program, and Moultaqa Leymoun, a platform that showcases and develops the work of artists and choreographers from Arab countries and co-founder of the Masahat network. In 2017, he designed and established Citerne Beirut, a choreographic and cultural center in Lebanon which, following its forced dismantling in 2019, gave birth in France to Citerne.live in 2020.