Until the 15th of January of 2012, the Centro de Arte Andaluz Contemporáneo de Sevilla (Andalucian Contemporary Art Centre in Seville) presents the work ‘Constructing/Dismantling. Margin and city’, by the Austrian conceptual artist Andreas Fogarasi. The work which will be presented in the Claustrón Sur (South), corresponds to the first individual exhibition of the artist at the CAAC, and it’s under the frame of the Margin and City session.

Andreas Fogarasi was born in Vienna in 1977. He studied fine arts and architecture. He works of the political, social and economic role which culture and art in particular carry out, as a mean to understand the own mechanisms of production and reproduction. His reflection and critique to the economic and political interests which are hidden in the art world and the way in which they influence the spectator, is what his work reflects in a brilliant way.

As an architect and expert in how cities are articulated, constructed and reconstructed, Fogarasi focuses in a special way on contemporary cities. He takes architecture and urbanism which conform them according to the hegemonic vision of dominant culture, after hiding certain social and economic connotations, such as poverty, segregation and obscene richness in a minority.

The recurrent topic in all of his work is the commercialization of the city, built on stereotypes which mark images which go in detriment of plurality and heterogeneity of urban identity.

‘Constructing/Dismantling’ gathers a few of his interesting works. ‘Süden’, for example, made in 2005, investigates the process of the emergence of populations around the great car factories in the 20th century, and the culture of industrial development. This urbanization process begins with the process of development of the bourgeoisie of the 18th century, where the factory settles next to the house of the owner and it develops shacks for the workers to live in. As capitalism got stronger, the owners looked for more inhabitable areas where to install their mansions and the workers carried on living next to the factories, and as the welfare state st in, the shacks became populations and commerce emerged in the immediate vicinity of the large factories.

In his other works, such as ‘Kultur und Freizeit’ of 2006, Fogarasi makes a wooden construction as a device so that spectators observe and interact with the videos which are projected in the cultural centres of Budapest, where they’re given different uses to those which were meant in their construction, due to the political changes which happened after the fall of real socialisms. ‘Folkenmuseum’ made in 2010 documents a Norwegian museum in which they reconstruct the history of country life through a fictitious town.

‘Constructing/Dismantling’, made in 2010, is a video-installation which gives its name to the exhibition. It’s three videos which show different spaces in a city, and in this case it’s Santiago de Compostela. He focuses on representative buildings taking the City of Culture of the architect Peter Eisenman and other locations of temporary use such as fairgrounds.

For more information: http://www.caac.es/programa/foga11/frame.htm

Nancy Guzman

apartments in Seville is waiting for you to decide to spend a few relaxing days of good vibes in this city open to culture and difference. So come and visit this wonderful exhibition.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Maestranza Theater in Seville, located next to the homonymous bullring, is the operatic landmark of southern Spain and, if you ask me, even from all this part of Europe. Although regularly the season does not represent more than five or six titles, the productions are of sufficient quality to reach grandeur. This line inserts the ambitious project, which begun last season, aiming to stage the trilogy Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner (1813-1883). Anyone who wants to enjoy the entire series should know that already missed Das Rheingold, although it has not sold out yet (reservations are in great demand) for The Valkyrie, part of this colossal trilogy. The site we have already mentioned, the Maestranza Teather in Seville. The dates, between the 11^th and the 20^th of November 2011. Only four functions.

The Valkyrie, is according to all critics, the apotheosis of romantic drama. In the play, there is a mix of the fantastic stories of mythological gods with the underlying issues of the late nineteenth century, when the Freudian subconscious was already in the air. The plot revolves around the incestuous passion between siblings, between fathers and daughters and between gods and humans. While the gods are entertained by the vicissitudes of human beings, the cosmic forces help heroes to restore their identity, strength and courage. But not all the Valkyrie secret meetings, but the unfortunate death, as corresponds to a dramatic opera, is stalking the protagonists who succumb one after another to the fates, but not before proclaiming to the four invincible winds force their love. The drama, set in an indeterminate time in the forests and the creatures of nature are built in real stars, representing the apogee opera that gave way to more mundane plots (in the odd case) early Verdi or Puccini the twentieth century.

The grandeur of Der Ring des Nibelungen, of which the Valkyrie is part of, can not be explained without the detached patronage of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who did everything possible (paying debts, inviting Wagner to his court in Munich and putting all he needed at his disposal) the composer did not have to worry about anything different than create a complex work in terms of characters, plot and staging. This support came even to the construction of special Tannhäuser cave scenes, located in the basement of Linderhof Castle in Bavaria. Without detracting from his representations of this strange and fascinating theatrical scenes, presumably that same scene at Maestranza is just spectacular. Visit the link of the event http://www.teatrodelamaestranza.es/secciones/prog/prog_ficha.php?id=488 where you will find all practical information about it.

Candela Vizcaíno

: If you don’t live in Seville, but still want to attend this opera performance or other event, you can rent apartments in Seville The Maestranza is four steps away from the Torre del Oro and right across the Guadalquivir and Calle Betis.

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Translated by: Hans
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Film in Europe has always characterized itself for having a much more subjective and questioning cut, in comparison to the great Hollywood machinery. This doesn’t mean that no blockbusters or great commercial films are made in Europe for a sector who is much more interested in entertainment than in ‘culture’. The problem once again is in approaching the way in which film is being addressed recently. Hence that a film festival like the European Film Festival in Seville is used to provide a mapping for recent productions, new directors, producers, actors and actresses, as well as seeing up close how the film industry and market has been working in this part of the world.

Unfortunately it has to also be considered that, like many other cultural institutions, spaces which dedicate themselves to the alleged production of knowledge, the quantity of film festivals which have spread all over Europe is considerable. The economic crisis seems to not have much to do with culture, apparently. From where do the funds that finance these events come from? Actually, many of these organizations are self-financed or sponsored by local institutions. The European Film Festival in Seville is organized by the Institute of Culture and Arts of Seville and the Andalucía Film Commission.

Film festivals are great touristic potential for any region, and that’s why they invest in an event of such magnitude, just like they do in Barcelona or Sitges for example. Maybe it’s a good time to re-think what an adequate cultural offering really is, and in what measure is it a democratic offering to which everyone can access. The parade of celebrities which usually represents these events is nothing more than the interest to validate and give prestige to the institution that organizes certain events, festivals or ceremonies. Little does it have to do with the approach of the public towards directors and film stars but more about the media impact that the presence of these people can have on the festival.

Seville is a city with plenty of charm and, definitely, it’s one of the best places for this festival. If you’re a film lover, leave everything you’re doing and come to this festival which seems to be an interesting outlook on what’s been cooking in the film industry in recent times. Also, this year, the European Film Festival in Seville will have a section dedicated, as a tribute, to Russian film. In some way, today, films made in Russia are still not very popular among the other European countries and on a wider international level, despite being quite a broad industry. In the same way, this Russian film showing can be beneficial and encourage people to be part of the screenings that the European Film Festival of Seville offers for this 2011 edition. As you know, the festival runs from the 4th until the 11th of November. For more information visit the following webpage: http://www.festivaldesevilla.com/

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Seville and be part of this European Film Festival. Seville will thrill you with its beautiful streets.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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The festival in the Andalucian capital is one of the youngest ones which have revelled in Europe in the last few years. Although it’s still not an ‘adult’ (in 2011 it celebrates its eighth edition), it unfolds a quality programme (which can also be said about the communication), despite the well known issue of the decrease of the budget. Let’s begin by saying that the Seville European Film Festival (SEFF’2011) takes place in the home of the Casino Exposición, which is announced just like that, and few people know that you access it by the semicircular terrace attached to the Lope de Vega Theatre, in front of the Tobacco Factory, which today is the School of Philology. I mention this information so that the traveller or the disorientated local don’t get lost trying to look for the entrance. The economic cuts have also imposed themselves on this event: it has gone down from twelve days to eight, specifically from the 4th until the 11th of November. During the morning, afternoon and evening (as it’s the norm for a festival) they will screen the different films which are competing in this edition which is dedicated to new Russian film, a section which has twenty-five films competing, among films, short films and documentaries.

In the Official Section of the SEFF’2011 sixteen films will present themselves for the competition. The film ‘Los muertos no se tocan, nene’ (‘Don’t touch the dead, boy’) by José Luis García Sánchez will inaugurate the event, and it will be closed with ‘Shame’ by Steve McQueen. Between one and the other, they will screen productions from Belgium, France, Russia, Norway and Greece. Eurimages (unreleased works protected by homonymous funds of the European Community) will begin with the film ‘Petrucciani’, by the Indian-born British director Michael Radford, author of acclaimed films such as ‘The merchant of Venice’ or ‘The postman (and Pablo Neruda)’. As usual in this type of events, we’ll have to be alert of the red carpet where, probably, we’ll see the most famous names from the Spanish film scene. Who definitely is expected is the Russian director Nikita Mijalkov (Moscow, 1945), or Mikhalkov, according to other credits, who competes with two films, ‘Elena’ and ‘Heart’s Boomerang’, and presents a cycle on his country’s film and, also, will be awarded, this is a certainty, with the Honorary Prize as a tribute to his whole career. What we don’t know is if one of his films will also win the Giraldillo de Oro, the main award. For that we’ll have to wait for the awards ceremony which will take place on November 10th.

Although the tickets and the parallel activities are pretty seductive for the interested film fan, they are especially for the students of the University of Seville, because the promoters have organized a ‘seminar’ (‘The literature of Valle-Inclán in García-Sánchez’s film’), which computes with two credits of free configuration in the CV of the University. Attempting to be a cultural bridge between Europe and North Africa, this event is worthy of the attention of all film lovers. Here’s the link of the official website (http://www.festivaldesevilla.com/) where you can find all the information on tickets and the programme.

Candela Vizcaíno

Remember that, if you live outside the Andalucian capital, you can book your tickets and apartments in Seville online, where you can relax from all the films. We’ll wait here for you and your thoughts on the festival.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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