New Casa Daros and its Pre-inaugural Program

To celebrate the inauguration of the new Casa Daros in Río de Janeiro, in 2012, Daros Latinamerica organized a series of pre-inaugural events, presented in the context of the series of encounters entitled Meridians. One of the first acts of the pre-inaugural celebrations was the conversation on contemporary art in the month of May of this year that included the participation of two special guests: Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Diez and Brazilian artist Waltercio Caldas. The conversation was mediated and curated by Luis Camilo Osorio, curator at the MAM (Museo de Arte Moderno, Río de Janeiro). Coming up on July 5 of 2011, Mexican Teresa Serrano and Brazilian Lenora de Barros will also meet for a conversation centered on "Gestures, Words, and Gender" at the Oi Futuro auditorium. There, these prominent artists will exchange points of view about the history and current state of the discipline of performance. This dialog will be curated and mediated by Casa Daros¿ art and education Director Eugenio Valdés-Figueroa. Additionally, an encounter between Chilean artist Gonzalo Días and Brazilian artist José Damasceno will be held in August at the auditorium of the MAM in Rio; Argentine Leandro Erlich and Brazilian Vik Muniz will have a conversation in October at the Oi Futuro; and finally, Argentine Julio Le Parc and Brazilian Lole de Freitas will meet in November of 2011 at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil. As the inaugural event of the program, Cruz-Diez presented the work entitled Double Frequency Chromatic Induction, an over 285-feet-long mural that is also part of one of the future lateral walls of the Casa Daros, adjacent to the Lauro Saudré Avenue, one of the busiest streets in the city. The new venue is located at: Rua General Severiano 159, Botafogo, and has over 129,166 square feet space for exhibitions, the collections, and forums.