Residency VILA SUL

Brazil/Germany

Growing up in the ghettos of Sao Paulo, Ellen witnessed first-hand the power of community work. Born into a working-class family and always interested in nature, she was the first in her family to get a university degree, and it was a master’s in science from a university in Germany.
Her research is about technology uses for environmental data collection and analysis using computer vision.
The issue of sustainability and poverty in a world full of resources can be observed strongly in Brazil. These disparities are often based on the need for environmental justice. This issue should not go unnoticed, it should be at the centre of our discourses based on the question: How can we provide a sustainable planet for the present and future generations?
In her opinion, modern science should focus on setting up a framework based on equality between different social groups and scientists, willing to work together towards a common ground.

“It is important for me to be socially engaged for a functioning democracy and environment, not only do my scientific research detached from the world and its issues. I consider the networking of non-profit associations, scientists, activists, artists, educators, intellectuals, journalists, influencers and ordinary citizens as essential to design, shake and constantly change the society.

The opportunity to do a residency in Salvador is unique. The city has so much to offer, baianos are part of the centre of Brazilian and African culture in Latin America, and the understanding of Black consciousness can extend into environmental and indigenous consciousness in the future.
As a researcher in environmental issues, I see this unique opportunity as an inspiration for scientific issues of environmental justice that connect the cultures of the past and present and offer infinite possibilities for the future.”

Germany/Brazil

FRANCISCO KLINGER CARVALHO
was born in Óbidos (Brazil) in 1966. Lives and works in Mannheim, Germany.

1993 - 1997 studied Art at the Federal University of the State of Pará, Brazil. 1997 - 1999 DAAD scholarship for the Art Academy in Düsseldorf, with Prof Tony Cragg. 2009 - 2011 Visiting professor at the Universidad Nacional da Colombia, Colombia. Since 2018 lecturer at the Kunstakademie Mannheim, Germany

Over 500 exhibitions at home and abroad including: 2024 PARTI-cipation X, Lisbon, Portugal; 2023 Am Limit, Galerie Gong, Ostrava, Czech Republic; 2022 AMAZONIA - Symphonie einer Erinnerung, KunstKulturKirche, Frankfurt, Germany; 2020 Nie rzuca się kamieniami, mieszkając w szklanym domu, Centrum Rzeźby Polskiej w Orońsku, Poland; 2020 Na hrane, Kunsthalle Bratislava, Slovakia; 2019 VAIVEM, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 2011 ‘Tensão/ Formas Navegatórias/ Expedición’, Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogota, Colombia; 2006 ‘Tandem’, Kunstmuseum Mülheim, Germany; 2003 Señales Limítrofes, ARCIS, Santiago, Chile; 1999 ‘Weltsichten’, IFA Galerie, Stuttgart, Germany; 1993 ‘Klima Global’, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Berlin, Germany.

"Oratorium Para Uma Árvore Morta" (Oratorium for a Dead Tree), a project proposed for the residency at Vila Sul, Goethe - Institut Salvador- Bahia, to be presented at an institution in Salvador, is a cultural performance that I began making in 2015, as a manifesto in repudiation of the growing number of deaths due to land conflicts, which have victimised environmentalists, indigenous people and farmers; men and women, who resist by fighting for the possession of unproductive or unused land and for the preservation of forests, as well as in opposition to the felling of centuries-old trees, some of which are threatened with extinction. The songs sung in this performance are songs of commendation for the souls, which are usually performed on Good Friday, a ritual of the Catholic Church. In the first version presented in 2015 at the Pará State Museum, the performer was my mother, who died two years later. She was a Black woman who was extremely devout and knowledgeable about Catholic liturgy, and her imposing figure contributed greatly to amplifying the ritualistic density of the lament for the dead. The reference to the mourners makes possible a cultural diversity that still needs to be better explored, which is why the cycle of this work/project has not yet been completed. It needs to be expanded into a broad appeal to mourn the dead, from the perspective of different groups that make up Brazil's social complexity, such as the Carpideiras of Correntina, Bahia. It is also based on Samuel Beckett's performance play ‘The Square’. In this approach, actors, performers or personas could sing chants of recommendations, but the chants would be sung alternately. It would be an opportunity to involve the Bahian community, to research the various songs for the dead within the Afro-Brazilian and indigenous traditions.

Netherlands/Colombia

Roberto Uribe graduated in architecture from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá and completed a Master of Fine Arts at the Weißensee Academy of Art in Berlin. As an independent architect, he has conducted research on Bogotá and the Sabana and served as an external advisor on Bogotá's first Land Use Plan (POT). As a designer, he has worked on private residences in Amsterdam and Berlin. His Master in Spatial Strategies in Berlin marked the beginning of his individual practice as an artist. Uribe is interested in the city, architecture, and space as historical documents and archaeological sites, often starting with a specific location to establish a dialogue between architecture, politics, and history through alterations of existing elements. At times, Uribe works with urban elements like billboards in ephemeral public installations that question lesser-known histories of the chosen place. He has received the Berlin Senate research grant and has been a finalist in several public art competitions in Germany, including those by the Ministry of Finance and the "Decolonial Monument" in Berlin, as well as the EU Beyond Memorialisation competition. Additionally, he is a co-founder and member of the NGO CC_Berlin, which collaborates with communities to develop projects that improve living conditions and reduce vulnerability in rural communities in Mexico and Colombia.

Climate Apartheid
My work investigates, how historical traces in materials, environments, and landscapes reveal past human and non-human presences. Using methodologies from anthropology, ethnography and archival research, I explore how these traces shape our present. Collaborating with experts from diverse fields enriches this process.
Recently, I have focused on the histories of materials like rubber, examining the intertwined industrial growth in Europe and the brutal colonial exploitation in the Congo and Amazon during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This approach exposes the cultural, economic and political links between Africa, America, and Europe, highlighting how the Global North’s progress has relied on the violent extraction of resources and labor from the Global South. Acknowledgment and reparative action are crucial to confronting this legacy.
During my residency in Salvador - Bahia, I intend to explore the city's colonial past by examining its urban fabric, façades, and cultural traditions, contrasting them with marginalized peripheral areas. My goal is to uncover connections between gentrified and excluded zones, emphasizing how historical inequalities persist today.
While climate change affects everyone, its impact is disproportionately severe on Black, Brown, and marginalized communities. I aim to learn from these communities’ resilience and survival strategies developed through historical traumas such as slavery, plantation economies, and indigenous genocide. This perspective expands the understanding of environmental and social justice beyond human experiences to include all living beings sharing these territories.
I propose conducting workshops with young communities and social groups, fostering exchanges through dance, music, poetry, and cooking. These workshops will inform a public space intervention reflecting the community’s narratives and strategies of resistance. While the final form remains open, the project will challenge colonial legacies, restore overlooked histories, and reclaim space for lives erased by the myth of progress.

Cambodia

Sao Sreymao was born 1986 at the Site 2 refugee camp, Thai border. She graduated from Phare Ponleu Selpak’s School of Visual and Applied Arts, Battambang province in 2006. Her multidisciplinary practice includes painting, photography, digital drawing, sculpture and performance. Her works explore personal expression and memories, as well as the changing physical and psychological landscapes of Cambodian urban and rural communities. She has also collaborated with various writers in visual storytelling and published a number of graphic novels. In addition, Sreymao’s artworks have been
exhibited as solos and groups at local and international galleries as well as art festivals.

Grantee under the "Rethinking the South - Repensando Sul" program from the KfW Foundation.

Art statement for fellow at Vila Sul
SAO Sreymao
24th April 2024
As an artist, I deal intensively with topics such as identity and cultural hybridity
I am excited to be one of the chosen ones to take part in an art residency in Vila Sul.
My practice, which encompasses painting, photography, digital drawing, sculpture, and
performance, is rooted in personal expression and memory, as well as the evolving landscapes within Cambodian urban and rural communities.
The residency at Vila Sul presents a pivotal opportunity for my project and artistic development.
Firstly, it offers a new cultural environment where I can push myself, gaining fresh perspectives and inspiration. Engaging with local communities and artists will provide invaluable insights into their traditions and artistic expressions, which I aim to integrate into my work. The collaborative opportunities at Vila Sul are very challenging and interesting for me: The artists from diverse backgrounds, the unknown place. I look forward to enriching my practice through intercultural exchange and dialogue.
Furthermore, I am excited to continue the exploration initiated in my project "Breath”, a video performance exploring the connection between the land of sea salt, nature and sound, and how development comes across this beautiful city. Bahia is similar to the cities along the coast where I experiment the “Breath”. "Breath" is the first project, which marks my first collaborative with a profession videographer, embodies a universal human experience. I aim to expand upon this work by inviting other artists who resonate with its message to participate in collaborative live performances, wherever it may be. Through shared expression and collective creativity, I believe that my participation in the fellowship at Vila Sul will not only contribute to the success of my current project but also the way of my future artistic growing. It is an opportunity to learn, grow and create in a vibrant and supportive community and I am very much looking forward to this transformative journey.