The 17th edition of VERBO, an annual performance exhibition organized by Galeria Vermelho, will be held between July and August in three Brazilian capitals: São Luís (MA), Fortaleza (CE) and São Paulo (SP), totaling more than 30 actions with the presence of artists from five countries. Led by Samantha Moreira, coordinator of Chão SLZ, and Marcos Gallon, artistic director of Galeria Vermelho, responsible for the curatorship, the event, completely free of charge, will include live and video presentations.
The non-profit festival, created, produced, and managed by Vermelho, is one of the most important and traditional on the international art scene. Held annually since 2005, it is the first event dedicated entirely to performance in Latin America and has established itself as one of the main stages for artists from around the world, decentralizing art by occupying public and private spaces, in addition to promoting discussions and workshops open to interested parties. In addition to democratizing access to presentations, VERBO also provides video recording of actions, offering an extensive collection completely free of charge on the event’s official website.
“In 2023, we seek to choose innovative projects that dialogue with the local contexts of each city. As in previous editions, the curatorial framework was created based on the proposals received through the open call and the projects presented by the invited artists,” Gallon says.
“Expanding forms of connections and partnerships between institutions from different fronts and layers of cultural production, a gallery, an independent space, a museum, and a cultural center, is an event that has been necessary for a long time, always adding knowledge, experiences, audiences, powers and opening up possibilities for policies to promote the arts in Brazil,” says Samantha Moreira.
“VERBO’s proposal shares one of the main objectives of the CCVM, which is to expand discussions and launch new perspectives on pressing issues in our society through the various artistic languages. The exhibition, in addition to bringing powerful programming to the city, provokes the Ludovicense public to consume performing art,” says Gabriel Gutierrez, director of the Vale Maranhão Cultural Center.
300 proposals were received from various regions of Brazil and the world. The selection of projects received through the open call was carried out by Carolina Vieira, Marcos Gallon, and Samantha Moreira.
Some highlights include Brazilian artists André Vargas (Rio de Janeiro), Charlene Bicalho (New Era), Aline Motta (Niterói), Julha Franz and Tuna Dwek (São Paulo). The collective No Barraco da Constência Tem! , from Fortaleza, will be present in the three capitals. In Maranhão and Ceará, the event opens and, in São Paulo, it participates in the closing.
International names include Boris Nikitin (Switzerland), Filipino-Danish Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen (Copenhagen), and Mexican Tania Candiani, among others.
Capitals
VERBO will once again gain space in São Luís (MA) from July 19 to 21 and in Fortaleza (CE) from July 27 to 30. The closing will take place in São Paulo between August 9th and 11th. This is the largest edition of the event. VERBO has been taking place in São Luís since 2018 in Chão SLZ.
Each capital will receive a different program of performances that dialogue with local specificities, with the exception of the axis of actions created for video cameras, whose program will be presented in full in the three cities.
VERBO 2023 also includes in its program the 5th edition of the VERBO Conjugado conversation cycle at the Vale Maranhão Cultural Center — CCVM in São Luís, two residences at Casa do Sereio (Alcântara, MA), the Performance-written workshop, at the Pinacoteca do Ceará in Fortaleza, in addition to a selection of video records of actions presented in the 16 editions of the exhibition that are part of the VERBO collection, and which will take place on the gable and video wall of the Museum of Image and Sound — MIS, also in Fortaleza.
“Performance challenges collecting and the art system in the quest to catalog the ephemeral. We fully document everything that happens at Verbo, we dedicate specific programs to debate and to the production of texts, in addition to producing publications since the first edition of the exhibition. Verbo provided the stage for those who, until then, did not have that space”, evaluates Gabriel Zimbardi, from Galeria Vermelho.
“Back then, when we started, our idea was to present the work of young artists who didn’t have space for this type of art at the time. However, over time, this took on greater proportions and today we can say that Verbo is the first major performance festival in Latin America, the longest-running and one of the best known. The fact that today we have five headquarters with different institutional pillars points to this recognition”, explains Marcos.
The 17th edition of Verbo is supported by Galeria Vermelho, Pro Helvetia, Pinacoteca do Ceará, Agência Lema, Chão SLZ, Centro Cultural Vale Maranhão (CCVM) and Art Contábil.
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Performances by: Aline Motta (Niterói), Carchíris Barcelos (Paço Lumiar), Dinho Araújo (São Luís), Elilson (Recife), Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen (Copenhagen), At Barraco da Constência there is! (Fortaleza), and Yhuri Cruz (Rio de Janeiro).
Film and video program: Andrea Hygino and Artur Souza (Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte), Carolina Cony (Rio de Janeiro), Daniel Faguz (São Paulo), DJ Agojy from Exu and Profana ao Mel (São Luís), Eduardo Hargreaves (Tiradentes), Felipe Teixeira and Mariana Molinos (São Paulo), Galia Eibenschutz (Mexico City), Romão (São Félix), Renan Marcondes (São Paulo), Ruy Cézar Campos (Fortaleza), Ting-tong (Chang) Taipei), and Sy Gomes (Eusébio).
Conjugated Verb
June 21, 17:00
Conversation circle with artists and curators from Verbo 2023 about creative processes in the field of performance.
CCVM – 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. – Video Show
CCVM and Chão SLZ -19:30 – In Barraco da Constência there is! The action will start in front of the CCVM and will cover the route to the SLZ Floor.
SLZ Floor – 8:30pm – Aline Motta
CCVM – 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. – Video Show
SLZ floor — starting at 7:30pm — Carchiris, Dinho Araújo and Yhuri Cruz.
Friday, 21/7
CCVM – 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. – Video Show
CCVM – 17h – Conjugated Verb. Conversation circle with Verbo’s artists and curators.
SLZ floor — starting at 7:30pm — Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen, Elilson