By Jack Arnhold, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This Monday, September 17th, the multimedia festival ‘Multiplicidade’ (Multiplicity) returns to the ‘Centro Cultural Oi Futuro’ (Oi Futuro Cultural Center) in Flamengo with a special opening night performance.
The theme for this year is ‘Espaços Utópicos’ (Utopian Spaces), with the exhibition featuring works from Fernando Velázquez, Pedro Varella, and Berlin-based collective NUMEN; while this Monday’s opening night will see special performances by Sanannda Acácia, Phill Niblock and Livio Tragtenberg.
At 7:30PM this Monday, Sanannda Acácia, a sound artist, will present her piece ‘QuasiCrystal.’ This will be followed by American sound artist Phill Niblock performing excerpts from his work ‘The Movement of People Working.’ He will also be joined by São Paulo musician Livio Tragtenberg as a guest.
The exhibition itself will feature an artwork from the NUMEN collective, based in Berlin. Their piece, ‘Tape’ will be on display throughout the duration of the festival in Gallery One, on the ground floor and in the outdoor area of the Centro Cultural Oi Futuro.
Also exhibiting works are Fernando Velázquez, a Uruguayan artist based in São Paulo. He will present ‘Iceberg,’ a virtual reality work first debuted in June at the Zipper Gallery in São Paulo. Another artist, Pedro Varella, will also showcase a piece named ‘Tecnô’ which is a previously unexhibited piece especially developed for Multiplicidade.
Festival Multiplicidade began in 2005 in Oi Futuro Flamengo, and has also been hosted at some of the most iconic venues in the Cidade Maravilhosa, such as ‘Escola de Artes Visuais’ (School of Visual Art) in Parque Lage, and the Planetarium in Gávea.
A truly international festival that pushes the boundaries of electronic and digital art, Multiplicidade has featured international artists and musicians such as Diplo, Peter Greenaway, Arto Lindsay, and Scanner, as well as Brazilian luminaries including Arnaldo Antunes from Tribalistas, and Tom Zé.
What: Festival Multiplicidade 2018: Espaços Utópicos
When: Opening Night – Monday, September 17th; 7PM-11PM; Exhibition – Monday, September 17th to Sunday, November 18th; Tuesdays to Saturdays, 11AM-8PM
Where: Centro Cultural Oi Futuro, Rua Dois de Dezembro, 63, Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro
Entrance: Free