Colomborama

Marius Wang and Olga Robayo are the members of El Parche, a curatorial alliance presently working on the planning, consolidation and execution of a multi-disciplinary exhibition in Oslo of Colombian contemporary art entitled Colomborama. The exhibition will remain open from February to June of 2013 at six points across the city.

The Stenersen Museet will present the exhibition entitled Bogotápolis, a group show that combines the artistic production of a new generation of Colombian artists with that of artists already well-established in the local art scene for the last decade. These works address several interpretations of the city and its environment through themes like violence, narcotics, marginalization, authority, recycling, history, myths and globalization, from the perspective of a fusion between reality and fiction. The artists who participate in this segment of Colomborama are: Jaime Ávila, Carlos Castro, María Isabel Rueda, Andrés Felipe Uribe, Edinson Quiñones, Carlos Bonil with Miguel Kuan, Elkin Calderón, Wilson Díaz, Edwin Sánchez and José Alejandro Restrepo.

Artist Angélica Teuta will present a solo show at Fotogalleriet that will include photo-installations with projected images—some of urban landscapes, other abstract—that transform the space into very singular environments.

Then, artist Humberto Junca will present at Tegnerforbundet an installation specifically created for the Oslo exhibition that also represents the continuation of his work Damn Right! from 2006. This new installation by Junca consists of nine used desks intervened with drawings that represent a dialogue between the logos of some Norwegian Black Metal bands and violent events from Colombia's modern history.

The Dortmund Bodega will present Post-mortem, an exhibition centered on that which once was and that which still remains of this experimental space and of the Bodegón art group. As it occurs with almost all collaborative projects initiated by artists, El Bodegón (2005-2009) was intense and short-lived, but it marked an important moment of contribution and projection towards today's art scene in Bogota. This exhibition will be accompanied by a seminar headed by Víctor Albarracín and by the presentation of the film Modiéndonos la Cola (Biting our Tail) by Jimena Andrade and Marco Moreno.

The artist Mauro Renato Benavidez (1980) will present a performance in connection to the exhibition at Dortmund. Benavidez' project plays with the ambivalence between the concept of party as performance and performance as party. The artist's cheerful presence operates at several levels, as it includes a complete analysis on political and social issues channeled through the music and the action performed.

Denominated Podium, the next segment of the exhibition will present Colombian Crack Family, an urban movement that emerged from the hip-hop and rap scene in the southern neighborhoods of the Colombian capital, particularly in the section known as Ciudad Bolívar. The movement is led by Cejaz Negraz, its charismatic central figure, who alongside Manny ($$$), another Colombian rapper, will develop a collaborative project with other rappers from the Oslo-based group Breaknecks. Together they will present a series of concerts, a workshop and they will also collaborate on a video clip.

Concurrently with Colomborama, the Kunstnernes Hus Oslo will offer a workshop/studio—artists residences in downtown Oslo—where Norway will host for the first time the El Parche Artist Residency. This will become the point of reference for the public and the Colombian artists that will be in the city. The visiting artists will participate in different activities like conferences and exhibitions. T...