During the semi-finals, young artists from 16 artistic fields presented their work including painting, photography, digital illustration, sculpture, street art, music, music production/dj, fashion design, handicrafts, contemporary dance, theatre, contemporary circus, literature, short films, music video as well as video art.
Following the semi-final event, its winners werre invited to take part in the “Art in Progress” residency in Kintai. From August 23 to 29, a diverse group of resident artists was gathered in Kintai to prepare a group exhibition to be presented at the MAarte Live final show in Rome. The artists worked in a collaborative and multidisciplinary manner that linked sculptures, textiles, film, sound, dance and poetic text, the overall process being mentored by Yiorgis Sakellariou and Roberto Becerra.
The main challenge was to find and establish a common ground for communication and creative thinking. Initially, through a series of meetings and talks, the artists shared their individual background and interests. The first decisive step was to agree on a theme. “When your neighbour’s house is on fire…” is the title of the group exhibition that aims to extend the understanding of human contact and separation by exploring the notion of danger, borders, environment, exchange, individuality, and community. The outcome deliberately opens a physical and conceptual space for visitors of the exhibition to discover and reflect upon.
Video by Mantas Narkevičius
After agreeing on the concept and context, the artists worked both individually and collaboratively towards the materialization of the outcomes. Physical and practical activities also included the exploration of Kintai’s natural environment, as well as its cultural events. All this additional input further fueled and inspired the creative processes. At the end of the residency, the artists had gathered visual material, prepared prototypes of their works and sketched a plan for their pavilion. In the time leading to the final show, the artists will fix the final details of their works and arrange the practical and technical details of the exhibition in collaboration with the organisers in Rome.
Art in Progress participants: Mantas Narkevičius, Anushka Chkheidze, Annika Komprart, Diana Remeikytė, Simonas Bernotas ir Juho Luukkainen and others.
Photo credits: Mantas Narkevičius
