SISMO or in Praise of the Ephemeral
AIMÉ MALENA PANSERA Proyecto B, 2009. Cortesía: SISMO -Teatron.
Last weekend, at the Matadero art space, the I Festival de Creación “in situ” SISMO [1st SISMOI in situ Creation Festival] took place, with the aim of functioning as a meeting point and a space for the diffusion of the activities by artists working a variety of fields, all of which come together on the stage. This would have been a contemporary theatre festival like any other had it not been for the ephemeral nature of a series of works linked to a unique and unrepeatable moment and time. With an appearance of modernity, the festival refers, on the one hand, to a practice which goes back to the avant-garde trends from the early 20th century, and, on the other, to the theatre created by and for the community, which is very popular in Anglo-Saxon countries and Latin America. The great difference, and also the show’s most striking innovation, lies in its use of new technology, not only in terms of creation, but also with regards to the circulation and documentation of a series of works which would otherwise not have found a place in conventional distribution circuits.
The festival, which mainly focuses on theatre, includes many famous names in its programme, such as Fernando Rejinfo, Francisco Camacho and Rolf Abderhalden, as well as others who are finding their place in the alternative art scene, such as Masu Fajardo, the Punctum Company, or the members of the Teatron Collective.
It is worth pointing out that, even though they share the multidisciplinary nature of the creative process, the artists whose work is on show interpret spatial specificity in different ways. Punctum, and the group of artists En proceso, who, under the management of Tomàs Argaray, carried out their activity in parallel to the festival, established the guidelines of their work on the basis of the social and geographic context of the neighbourhood of Arganzuela, in Madrid. On the other hand, Aimé Malena Panserá, Fernando Rejinfo, Quim Pujol and Francisco Camacho all opted for more personal poetics, adapting them to the creative moment. For their part, the musicians invited to the festival, Pompeia and Epicentro de Propagación Sonora, base their work on the interaction with the audience and the other artists.
All of those taking part in the festival are aware of the current situation in the art market, and, rather than allowing the lack of public support to drive them to self pity, they are seeking new ways of showing their work. In the discussion and debate section, entitled Rooms, the participants reflected on the political dimension of an opus which, in some of the shows presented, had less depth than was expected. Now all that remains is to include audiences: the community which this immense cultural centre and its artists seek to attract to this space.
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