The Sara Modiano Award is an initiative of the the Sara Modiano Foundation for the Arts that rewards Colombian artist under de age of 35 in order to further his/her career in the national and international level. This year, the prize has been awarded to the group El Cuerpo Habla for their proposal Carga-Montón [To gang up on someone] In the words of the group, their proposal "uses performance art as a vehicle to raise questions about art and its assimilation in society, to build bridges and dialogues that enable the interaction of different types of knowledge, the exchange of artistic practices and the opening of artistic spaces (museums, galleries) to unconventional venues, such as unsuspected and risky places that contain the tragic and magical aspects of life ... the action consists of moving a cart of approximately 1.50 × 2.20 meters (to be designed and constructed for that purpose) from one place to another in the city that will contain several nude bodies (at least fifteen) that appear discarded, motionless, for an undetermined period subject to the endurance and development of performance (about 12 hours)." The panel entrusted to nominate the artists was formed by curatorial director José Roca; Celia Birbragher—in representation of print and digital publications; Ella Fontanals de Cisneros—in representation of collectors; Maria Belen Saez de Ibarra—on behalf of academics and museums; Maria Jose Arjona—representing the profession of art; Oscar Roldan—representing academics, Tatiana Rais—on behalf of the exhibition spaces. In this, the second edition of the award, international curators Sophie Goltz (based in Germany and Austria) and Julia Draganovic (based in Germany) were responsible for making the final selection of the winner. El Cuerpo Habla collective is formed by Evelyn Joan Loaiza-Quiceno, Juan Felipe Orozco-Posada and Lina María Loaiza-Bran. In addition to awarding the winner a commission to develop a specific artistic project, the Sara Modiano Award also grants access, during the development of the project, to a mixed panel of mentors and an exhibition space in which to present the final work. More information available at:
www.saramodiano.org