ENHANCING THE GLOBAL SOUTH
SAMKA MEETS NEO NORTE PERFORMANCES BRINGS TRADITIONAL ANDEAN RITUALS TO BLOOMSBURY FESTIVAL TO CELEBRATE MOVEMENT AND RE-THINK ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE AS A TOOL FOR OUR CONTEMPORARY DAILY LIFE.
- A series of workshops, interviews, a multimedia installation, performances and dialogues facilitated by Tere Chad, Andoro del Trueno and Andrés Vargas, will take place at Bloomsbury, London in October.
- The meditative performances invite migrant audiences to share their journeys through dancing, embroidery, writing, music and exploring nature.
According to the Office for National Statistics' (ONS's) Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) (June 2023), around a quarter (26%) of Great Britain's adult population has felt lonely often, always or some of the time. Climate change and the environment are most commonly reported as the important issues the UK faces (62%). Therefore, 'Samka Meets Neo Norte' brings meditative practices from the Global South to Bloomsbury, inviting audiences to experience different ways of connecting to their bodies and surroundings.
Samka in Aymara language is the conception of delirium: 'everything I can dream of and everything I can remember in a single moment.' Samka project is led by the Bolivian artists Andoro del Trueno and Andrés Vargas, SAMKA’s aim is to re-think ancestral knowledge as a tool for our contemporary daily life and offers a bridge where migrants and local communities can establish connections, express their aspirations and rekindle links with their roots. Neo Norte (New North) is an artistic research project which proposes the South as the New North. The project led by the Chilean artist and curator Tere Chad since 2017, has been showcased in 4 countries, Santiago de Chile, London, Helsinki and Sicily, with the participation of more than 80 artists and received more than 565.000 attendees.
'Samka meets Neo Norte', invites a migrant audience for a contemporary arts performance and multimedia installation that will involve projections, walking in a shape of a triangle and circle, writing over recycled fabric the cultural values of the Global South, using scents to ask for wishes, playing Laqan Paxhi wind instrument and amplifying the beat of the heart with a device created by the Chilean artist Felipe Zegers. The performance is a collective action open to families to celebrate the deep sense of community, the ancestral cultural values and invites to strengthen our humanity in relation with the whole. Throughout its journey, 'Samka meets Neo Norte' has compiled a series of ancestral indigenous values around Latin America which invite contemporary communities to yield for more sustainable ways of living.
'Samka Meets Neo Norte' is part of a series of participatory performances aiming to enhance movement and the cultural values of the Global South: This series of performances begin in Venice (Sept 2024), continue at Bloomsbury Festival (Oct 2024), to then be part of Neo Norte 5.0 at the Museum Memorial da América Latina, in Sao Paulo, Brazil (tbc: Oct - Nov 2025) and culminate in Palermo, Sicily (tbc: Nov 2026).
‘Samka Meets Neo Norte’ is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, Camden Giving and also by the Bloomsbury Festival, the Contemporary Bolivian Arts Trust and the Latin American House.
PROGRAMME:
Interviews with migrant audiences / Oct 2024 / Bloomsbury Radio
Workshops inviting migrant audiences to share their journeys through writing, embroidery, movement and music / Thurs 10 Oct, 5.30 – 7.30pm, Latin American House 10 Kingsgate Place, London, NW6 4TA / Sun 13 Oct, 12pm – 1.30pm, Bramber Green, London, WC1H 8JS
1st Performance & multimedia installation open to audience engagement / Fri 18 Oct, 7.15 – 7.45pm (Main Hall), 8.30 – 8:45pm (Reception) / Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL
2nd Performance & multimedia installation open to audience engagement / Sat 19 Oct, Indoor Exhibition 11.00am – 4pm & Outdoor Performance 11.30am – 12pm / Holy Cross Church, Cromer House, 98 Cromer Street, London, WC1H 8HJ
Panel Discussion: Moderator: Dr Camilo Soler / Speakers: Tere Chad, Andoro del Trueno, Andrés Vargas, Dr Estrella Sendra Fernández / Thurs 17 Oct, 6 – 7.30pm / Bush House (S) 2.02, Strand Campus, King’s College, London, WC2B 4BG (Closest Tube Stations: Temple and Holborn)
Feedback Session open for participants / Wed 30 Oct, 6.30 – 7.30pm / Online (platform tbc)
CONTACT: terechad@hotmail.com andoro.art@gmail.com andresvargasserpa@gmail.com
IG: @terechad @andoro.deltrueno
MORE INFO:
Book Panel Discussion: https://shorturl.at/kMxzU
Bloomsbury Festival: https://bloomsburyfestival.org.uk/
Contemporary Bolivian Arts Trust:
https://www.cbatuk.org/post/samka-meets-neo-norte-arrives-to-bloomsbury-festival
Neo Norte: https://www.terechad.com/neo-norte
Samka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEXtPSqTvwk
