Founders and Directors of Móvil, Alejandra Aguado and Solana Viamonte discuss Argentina’s emerging art scene

New platforms for Argentine artists

by Sooni Shroff GanderWhat is Móvil and why did you found it?
Móvil is an independent, nonprofit art organization in Buenos Aires dedicated to giving young local artists opportunities to investigate, produce, and exhibit. Within the local art circuit, it occupies an important commissioning role: artists are invited to develop an experimental project that can be fully produced in our exhibition space, with a production budget and artist fee, and our full curatorial and production support. There are very few platforms that allow artists to try new things, and our art scene needs this for its development.&nbsp;What have you achieved?We have exhibited artists including Irina Kirchuk, Joaquín Boz, Tomás Maglione, Mercedes Azpilicueta, Sebastián Roque, Nicolás Sarmiento, Santiago de Paoli, Joaquín Aras, Manuel Molina and Elena Dahn. Works produced by Móvil have entered private and public collections, been profiled in significant exhibitions both in Argentina and abroad, won local awards and – most fundamentally – have motivated other spaces, organizations, and curators to invite these artists to residencies, to participate in other shows, or to represent them commercially. To date, we have produced 10 exhibitions and commissioned three other projects for outside the exhibition space.

What do you consider most important for art and the public?We have a free program of activities with schools and groups of a diverse nature. In this manner, Móvil places art in front of those who may never come into contact with lesser-known art practices, like Marina De Caro’s performance opera ‘The Universe in a Thread’, in collaboration with the Teatro Argentino de la Plata (TACEC) – thus expanding the public's knowledge of not only specific artists, but also of emerging art itself. We have also produced four experimental projects outside our exhibition space, by De Caro, Leandro Tartaglia, Leticia Obeid, and Leopoldo Estol. We feel that there should be a space of encounter between the larger public and the work of artists who live around the corner and whose work results from a shared context.What can we look forward to this year?Our programming this year began in June and we are currently working on three projects. The first is a commission of work by Leopoldo Estol titled La pequeña vida, which is a documentary film linking people and books that explore the relationship that various authors, publishers, and readers establish with them. We are also working on exhibitions by the artists Benjamín Felice and Julián D’Angiolillo.&nbsp;

How is Buenos Aires establishing a cultural presence?Buenos Aires is a city where you can experience artistic endeavors that are fresh and vibrant. <g>Art</g> here responds in a very singular and alert way to what is current – socially and economically. Art sprawls throughout the city, offering a direct experience of art through its artists. The fact that there are not that many institutions commissioning contemporary art have made artists here the best agents for generating collaboration, exchange, encounters, and work. How can Argentina raise its profile on the global art scene?We need institutions, agents, and political support so that that the country’s artistic energy can be channeled to produce even more. We need backing and real commitment in order to reach a wider audience. In Argentina, people don’t really understand that art should be sustained as an experience on many different levels, not just as a series of objects consumed through the art market – which is so tiny here. We would like to raise these and other issues, which would help us all understand the value of art. There are so many incredible artists in this country: we hope we can help them to raise the profile of their work so that it can be appreciated internationally, and also help generate dialogue with international artists, which can be so enriching.&nbsp;&nbsp;With excerpts from the Art Basel | Year 48 book by Clément Dirié, which is available now. For more information,&nbsp;click <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/about/yearbook-suppliers">here</a>.For further information about the Art Basel Cities: Buenos Aires initiative, click <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/cities/buenos-aires/overview">here</a>.

Alejandra Aguado與Solana Molina Viamonte創立的非營利平台Móvil，致力推動阿根廷年輕藝術家跨越藝術的界限

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With their nonprofit platform Móvil, Alejandra Aguado and Solana Molina Viamonte have carved out space for Argentina’s young artists to push boundaries