BANGALORE22 Jun 2012 to 01 Jul 2012
"We are here" is a project that explores the relation between virtual and physical presence and its influence on collective, community and place within cities in a global world.
"We are here" follows a process that involves a series of laboratories. The outcomes of the laboratories are shared in a site specific participatory intervention or exhibition at the Indo-German Urban Mela at Bangalore starting on June 22, 2012. It explores the fast blurring borderline via encounters between the artistic fields with the newest technology research to explore the inherent potential for creating meeting spaces, spaces for social action and interaction in city spaces.
Vera Maeder and Archana Prasad, together with selected Indian artists from backgrounds of journalism, dance, multimedia, visual arts, design and technology research will embark on an exploration of mediated presence and physical presence in the context of Bangalore and the arrival of the Urban Mela in its centre.
Artistic directors
Vera Maeder and Archana Prasad met in Bangalore in 2009 in the context of "Social Art in the Public Realm" - a set of activities that explored creative spaces in the city. A confluence of local and international artists, designers and practitioners working with performative, visual and sonic formats engage interested publics in participatory and creative exercise at various locations in the city. Both of them chose to work at Shivaji Nagar bus station, and discovered ground and connection in collaborating together. They kept contact since, following the developments of the platforms that each of them runs: JAAGA and hello!earth.
More about We Are Here: http://we-are-here.in/about/
Vera Meader
Director of hello!earth, Vera's training is in dance and theatre. Vera works as a performer, director/choreographer and concept maker and has constantly been testing the limits of the theatrical. She explores work in public spaces reaching from site specific performances to social art projects, does instantly composed dance performances as a solo artist, and directs theatre work for the stage. Many of them are developed in a devising process with people from various artistic disciplines. Most recently she was the driving force in developing The World in Technicolour, a working approach for participatory site specific performances, which became the base for hello!earth's works.
E-mail: vera@helloearth.cc
Archana Prasad
Archana Prasad is an artist from Bangalore, India. Her work is a particular conjunction of visual art, technology and urban community-based art, steeped in design and research methodologies. As Co-Founder & Director of Jaaga, Archana has a unique artist-activist role. She works towards building a stronger arts community and positively impacting public perception of art, artists and art-practices, and seeks to harness the power of the internet in this negotiation. She has a keen interest in documentation and creating public awareness on Bangalore's socio-cultural heritage.
E-mail: archana@jaaga.in
