caldodecultivo english

—CALDODECULT IVO

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—STATEMENT

—We inhabit a present where the commodity has reached the total occupation of everyday life: “in the spectacle the totality of the commodity world is visible in one piece, as the general equivalent of whatever society as a whole can be and do“1. The look, then, is not only subject to mere forms, acts as a device of cognitive production inscribed in a complex network of discourses, institutions, situated practices and power relations that organize the visible and the possible. In this context, the urban experience becomes a selection of stereotypical images of it self and the other; where the other always represents pollution and threat to a pure metropolis where the order and so-

cial homogenization prevails.

Facing the totalitarian and totalizing experience of the city as a commodity, we propose to think the urban as ne-cessarily conflicting and contradictory space, as ground of political struggle and poetic creation, as temporality for the collective construction of the common, as a pla-ce for insurgent creativity and resistance. So, knowing that we live in a world of shamelessly misery, silence and conformity, we want to put into practice a Bacterial politics and aesthetics: ubiquitous microorganisms that act collectively against the consensus, and infectious dis-courses that pervert the destiny appears to us as natural

CaldodeCultivo 2013.

1. Debord, G. (2008). “The Society of the Spectacle”. Valencia: Pre-Textos.

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—ACTIONS/

INTERVENT IONS—

6 —ARRIBA

LOSDE

ABAJO—

(THE BOTTOM UPR IS ING )

—— CALDODECULT IVO + TODO POR LA PRAX IS —

Project in process.September-November 2013.

—La Perseverancia district,

Bogotá, Colombia.—

Project with Todo por la Praxis.

—Produced by La Otra Bienal de Arte Contemporáneo de

Bogotá.

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This intervention seeks to promote the dis-cussion about the phenomenon of gentrifica-tion in La Perseverancia district in Bogota. This neighbourhood is facing a speculative process that threatens with expulsion and replacement of its inhabitants due to its lo-cation in the city center. It’s a traditional working class neighbourhood know in the fif-ties as “the red belt district” and its history is closely linked to “El Bogotazo” the riot-ing and looting of the capital of Colombia in 1948, after the assassination of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, a popular liberal leader that was run-ning for president. We think that the mechanisms in the process-es of gentrification are not only economic but also cultural. Forgetting the history of strug-gle and breaking its rebel memory it is the first step to weaken the community ties and their possibility for collective action. Intro-ducing the statement “Arriba los de Abajo” (The bottom uprising) we want to make vis-ible those values and make those memories live today.

—Actions / Arriba los de Abajo

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The project consist in different actions and products:

1. Agit-pop campaign with the slogan “Arri-ba los de Abajo”. Posters, stickers and Mega-phone advertising (on-going).2. Panel discussion on “Gentrification”.3. Manufacture of wood 16 big letters (120x80x15cm) with the slogan “Arriba los de Abajo”.4. Print your t-shirt. 5. Installation of the letters in a scaffold tow-er where residents can go up to see the area from above. The tower will remain in opera-tion during the month of November 2013.

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—Actions / Arriba los de Abajo

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—EUROPA

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Warsaw, Poland.May 2013.

—Action developed in the framework

of the European projectwww.expedition-s.eu

—http://caldodecultivo.com/

Europa

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Europe... Will resist the fall?Will stay afloat?

In order to answer these questions, we un-dertook this metaphorical action, which consisted of dropping the word Europe in the waters of the Vistula River in Warsaw. Citizens from Poland, France and Spain were invoved in the action. On the way to the riv-er in the district of Prague, the team began to play with the order of the letters, result-ing in other words easily relatable to Euro-

pean time, such as “Paro” (unemployment in Spain) or “Peuro” (a game of words between fear and euro in French).

Some observations on the result of the fall of Europe: The E and P, which were already heavily burdened, fell the first, and because of the impact were unrecognizable. The A was the last to fall, but also fell, and in the fall he split from the rest. And with what was left of Europe adrift there were those who tried to fish what he could.

—Actions / Europa

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—Actions / Europa

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—Actions / Europa

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16 —BETTER TOMORROW

WAS YESTERDAY—

Praga district, Warsaw (Poland)

May 2013.—

Action developed in the framework


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Prague is the working class neighborhood of Warsaw, separated from it by the river Vis-tula, which exerts as a physical and mental border. Prague was the only one still stand-ing neighborhood after Warsaw was bombed in the Second World War. Its inhabitants were the subject of the occupation of the Nazis first, and were then occupied by the Soviets after the end of the war going to join the Commu-nist bloc. In 1989, with the fall of the Berlin

wall, comes democracy and capitalism. In the following years appears in the neighborhood a graffiti that reads LEPSZE WCZORAJ BYŁO JÜTRO (English BETTER TOMORROW WAS YESTERDAY) The phrase shows the disap-pointment of its inhabitants to the promises of capitalism and democracy.

Upon our arrival, we used this phrase as a re-search and approach tool to the reality of the neighborhood, not without some controversy, asking the inhabitants (especially elder peo-ple), what they thought about that statement and whether they were agree and feel identi-fied with it, or not. The majority were agree-ing to the sentence. Finally we asked them to complete phrase “better tomorrow was…” with their own thoughts. From their responses

we developed a series of posters, also rescuing the original one; providing a more optimistic message for the future of the neighborhood , which is now facing a new enemy : gentrifica-tion .

—Actions / Better Tomorrow Was Yesterday

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—Actions / Better Tomorrow Was Yesterday

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19Video—http://caldodecultivo.com/Bet-ter-Tomorrow-Was-Yesterday

20 —LO IMPORTANTE

ES LA BASE—

(WHAT MATTERS IS THE BAS IS )

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Campo Claro district, Tarragona (Spain).

January 2013.—

Action developed in the framework


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“What matters is the basis” refers to the present time, in the context of crisis, when the state ceases to invest in public and social services affecting the poorest. The New Laws restricting health care for illegal immigrants, especially affects neighborhoods as “Campo Claro” where the majority of the population has different backgrounds, moreover an un-employment above 40% has critically affect-ed the community.

The people of “Campo Claro” represent the basis, the foundation of society as whole and even more local children appear as rep-resenting the basis, vulnerable but dignified reminding us that they are the recipients of policies in education, culture and social care that the alleged welfare society is no longer able to provide.

—Actions / Lo importante es la Base

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Lo importante es la Base.Video. Loop.—http://caldodecultivo.com/Lo-importante-es-la-base

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—Actions / Lo importante es la Base

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26 —REPUBL IC

OF CROTONIA—

Ciudad Blanca, Crotonia.November 2012.

— Winner project of Call 2012-II. Network of Artistic Residences Local Program, National Uni-

versity of Colombia.

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Crotonia is an independent nation, a small island in Latin America, almost a micro-nation, with its own political system based on citizen partici-pation, collective decision making, culture and education as fundamental principles.Political system seems to work reasonably well for the approximately 50,000 inhabitants of Crotonia, who have realized that some economic sacrifices must be made in order to have cultural compensation offered. They are even satisfied with the indifference that the international community has historically provided to them, including the media censorship to which Cro-tonia is subjected to because, let’s put it clear, many countries are concerned that their citizens may find out that this system is working and that the Crotons live freely, as in any other Latin American nation.In fact Crotonia adopted in the 60s the “poli-tics of invisibility” or an “invisibility policy” (In Spanish we use politica for both concepts) that has allowed the country to maintain the basic foundations of its political system without in-ternational interference, the success of Crotonia is precisely because of its ability to remain ig-nored: It has not participated in the internation-al economic and political spectacle in the last 50 years, which led the country to literally disap-pear from the map.While this “invisibility policy” instituted in 1968 by the legendary leader Manuela Revuelta was radical at its beginnings, it has become more flexible over the years. In recent times neoliber-al opposition is hogging the power, they propose

that Crotonia must be visible, return to global economic and political arena and participate in the globalization game. In this context an inter-nal conflict between supporters of the original Croton system and the advocates for change has emerged in the last five years. In this shift to-wards internationalization this country will lose all its peculiarities to blend into the hegemonic order. Crotonia is then a threatened utopia.

Based on the video-testimonies of its inhabit-ants and exploring the conflict of Crotonia, we aim to offer a truthful version of past, present and future struggles in Crotonia, in contrast to the official version offered by the government to the international community.Our interest is to take Crotonia as an example from which to reflect on the phenomenon of glo-balization, privatization and the dismantling of the welfare state worldwide.—

Pictures: Demostration against the visibility of Cro-tonia. “Crotonia ausente”.

—Projects / Republic of Crotonia

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Recovery photo file of Manuela Revuelta, president of Crotonia in the 60s and responsible for its policy of invisibility.

1. Cover Life. New york, 1964.2. With Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfue-gos, in La Habana, 1960.3. With Frida Kalho and Diego Rivera, in Mexico DF, 1958 aprox.

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Video documentation of the daily life of Crotonia, its inhabitants and their views on the conflict.

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—CURATORIALPROJECTS

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34 —ESTACIÓ CREACT IVA

—(CREACT IVE STAT ION)

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Tarragona Bus Station2010-2011

— www.estaciocreactiva.net

—CaldodeCultivo / Künstainer

Pictures:“De pas”, by Andrea Eidenhammer, Maria Veses Ferrer and Salva Borrego.

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‘Estacio Creactiva’ is a program of artistic inter-ventions in the bus station of Tarragona (Cata-lonia), seeks to promote the use of public trans-port and reinvent the uses of the common and public spaces. ‘Estacio Creactiva’ aims to highlight the im-portance of public space as a catalyst of urban life, we understand it not only as a physical fra-mework but also as a network of relationships, we are claiming for the diversity of functions that it can host and its ability to stimulate the citizen creativity.

logue with the bus station user. Art installations in which the public interacts or participates in the process: ‘Estacio Creactiva’ is constituted as interrelational space where the public ceases to be a mere passive element, to pass to be an acti-ve part of the process.In this way the bus station becomes an essential artistic production space for the city of Tarra-gona, in tune with the change of paradigm that crosses the world of art, that one that takes pla-ce in public spaces more than in the conventio-nal art circuits. The artist, is more committed to

‘Estacio Creactiva’ is configured as an artistic platform, with the desire to make visible the processes and their integration in a context. Through planned interventions ‘Estació Creacti-va’ invites us to participate and make it our own, making the user the undoubted protagonist. The program deliberately works on the idea of “dia-logue”, so all activities aims are to have the dia-

the tensions and dynamics of the world around him, strives to break the barrier between art and daily life practices, allowing him to permea-te his work of that going on around him, giving meaning and content, in search of a wider au-dience, and with a critical attitude towards the sundry problematics that society generates.

—Projects / Estació Creactiva

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“Distorsión Libre”by Unai Reglero.

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“(In) Comfort-mism”by Violeta Bru, Lázaro Ginarteand Agustina Bonessi.


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“Recuerda tu promesa”by Mëgan and Joana Abrines

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“Time Pattern Generator 100”by Device.


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40 —CIUTATS CREACT IVES

—(CREACT IVES C IT I ES )

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Tarragona, 2-5 June2011.

— CaldodeCultivo

+ ArquitecturasColectivas.net

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What possibilities for citizens to transform their cities?

In order to discuss this question and raise many more ce-lebrated CiutatsCreactives Forum in Tarragona from 2 to June 5, 2011. With a format between the festival and the forum of ideas, groups and thinkers who propose creative solutions to contemporary urban challenges met to visua-lize new forms of action beyond the established, proposals that play with the boundaries of disciplines, generating intensive processes of collective creation.For four intensive days of workshops, lectures, discus-sions, project presentations, performances and coexisten-ce, the possibilities for citizens to transform public space were tested, with interventions in the old town giving life to three brownfield sites through creating large murals on walls or implementation of urban gardens.

PARTICIPANTS:>> Coloco <> Paris (France)>> Encajes Urbanos + Makea <> Valencia>> Correspondances Citoyennes > Rennes (France)>> Democracia <> Madrid>> Félix Pérez-Hita <> Barcelona>> Filastine <> Seattle (EEUU)>> Gaspar Maza <> Barcelona>> Giulia Tubelli y Stefano Boccardo <> Genova (Italy)>> Laboratori Visual <> Tarragona>> La Fundició <> Barcelona>> Manuel Delgado <> Barcelona>> Mazetas <> Sevilla>> M-etxea <> Donostia>> Nautarkia <> Torelló>> Óscar Guayabero <> Barcelona>> Penélope Serrano y Susana Tesconi > Barcelona-Milán>> Phillippe Dominguez <> Paris (France)>> POCS <> Foggia (Italia)>> Proyectalab <> Benicasim>> Ramon Parramon <> Barcelona>> Re:Farm the City <> Lisboa -Barcelona - New York ...>> Repensar Bonpastor <> Barcelona>> Santiago Cirugeda <> Sevilla>> Straddle3 <> Barcelona>> Telenoika <> Barcelona>> Todo por la Praxis <> Madrid>> Urban Art: Aryz / Sawe / Mëgan / Lluc Queralt

Workshops / Labs Urban Farm by Re:Farm the City + MazetasGuerrila design by Todo por La Praxisinventing playing by Penélope Serrano + Susana TesconiHappening-Body-Public space by LunàticsDocumentary by Guillermo Cruz + Andrea EidenhammerCrowdfunding by Phillippe DominguezLegal Park by Santiago Cirugeda

Urban ArtAryz / Sawe / Megan / Lluc Queralt

AudiovisualIn the net by Guillermo CruzLa memoria perduta, la memoria ritrovata by Sergio Gri-llo + Francisco Cabanzo + Liliana Fracasso (POCS, Foggia)Cities by Félix Pérez-Hita + Andrés Hispano (Soy Cámara,the program of CCCB)

Lives Ciutats Creactives at nightDistortled Box / Edith Crash / Guillem Delavall / ATTAC-KÄTT / Caen Botto (intermedia artist) / Rocket In My Poc-ket / La Rispect Krew / Discjonkey

—Projects / Ciutats Creactives

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Spider: Recetas UrbanasDomo: Straddle3

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—CALDODECULT IVO

—Since 2006

— Currently composed by:

Unai RegleroGabriela Córdoba Vivas

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caldodecultivo english

Documents

slogan arriba los

actions arriba los

statement arriba los

abajothe project

perseverancia district

commodity world

slogan arriba los

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