Beautiful video by Black Sheep Films which recreates an amusement park with games that float in different parts of Buenos Aires. To view full screen. Enjoy.

[Viewed here]

Images: Paula Alvarado.

The space has been open for ten years and works as artist residency since 2009, but I had not had a chance to visit it until a few weeks ago I went to a photo fair organized by the workshop Luz y Fuerza.

I'm talking about The Factory en la zona de San Telmo.

Juan Tobal, one of the resident artists and current director of the project, comments by email: “The Factory works as a big creation space shared by artists from various disciplines, in which all proposals are welcome if they are feasible”.

Inside the big house that hides behind a simple door which faces Peru street there are, on one hand, particular studios where each artist develops their work and, on the other, exhibitions, concerts, works in collaboration, and production of projects (both from resident artists and from visiting artists who come into contact with the residents).

Currently living at the place are five artists (Martin Lapalma, Pablo Mozuc, Escandar Pinto, Nahuel Santiago and Marcelo Strada), three bands (Morbo y Mambo, Mompox and Banda de turistas), the photography collective Luz y Fuerza (Lala Iezzi, Mauricio D’ortona and Lorena Fernandez), the festival of art trends directed by Jose Jimenez Tratado de Integracion, the dancer and researcher Alina Folini y la diseñadora Constanza Dellea.

In the past there were artists such as Sergio Boris, Gerardo Nauman, Romina Paula, Carola Gliksberg, Gonzalo Tobal, Pablo Accinelli, Elisa O Farrell and Victoria Mussotto, entre otros.

When I went to the photography fair, fue interesante perderse un rato por los estudios e imaginar las diferentes formas de trabajo de cada uno de los miembros.

If you do not know it, I recommend a visit to any of the events they organize. Those who did know it can see how the space has been in recent months in these photos. It is in Peru 442, San Telmo.

Links:
The Factory cultural space

Photos: Paula Alvarado.

I love those summer days where the warm sun shines,
the bird flies drunk with light and gurgles,
the fragrant flowers embalm everything and the grass is so green (…)
Victoria Ocampo (Source)

One of those summer days I spent touring the gardens of Villa Ocampo, la última residencia de la escritora y mecenas de la cultura Victoria Ocampo.

The house, which her father designed for his aunt as a summer resort and Victoria inherited, fue paso obligado de decenas de personajes de la cultura nacional e internacional a partir de los años ’40s.

One cannot appreciate via some photographs of her house turned into a museum all that Victoria Ocampo was for literature and culture in Argentina. Nor can one know through words the psychological effort she must have done to lead the life she led at a time when women had far less freedom of movement, to call it some way.

But I hope the images encourage you to visit this place, y escuchar la historia de la casa y de la mujer algún día para sacar sus propias conclusiones.

I recommend, if you consider going, arriving early. The house closes at 18 on Thursdays and Fridays and at 19 on the weekends, and, as the visit lasts an hour, si se va después de un almuerzo haragán no queda suficiente tiempo para sentarse a leer algunos libros o volúmenes de la revista Sur en la librería/biblioteca.

From the Beccar train station it's about ten minutes by bike, y las calles arboladas de alrededor están perfectas para estos días calurosos.

Más información en el sitio web del lugar.

Links:
VillaOcampo.org

I've been following and loving videos at The Selby y de Nowness y me preguntaba cuándo llegaría material audiovisual de esa calidad con contenidos locales.

While there is something on the music side with En la terraza and at Entre-vista they post nice conversations with interesting characters, there are no initiatives more focused on the design and art worlds. Por eso me gustó conocer de la existencia de Küche.

“Strictly, Küche is cuisine in German. It could be a kitchen of projects anywhere in the world, but it is a design and kitchen studio in Buenos Aires, Argentina”, explains architect and photographer Carolina Colmenero.

She met designer and cook Ximena Saenz traveling ten years ago, and after completing their studies they created this project. They describe it as a collection of their various skills, tastes and abilities which are combined in videos, recipes, photos, interiorismo y proyectos editoriales.

Of those things I just saw the videos, which I found adorable. The first ones made for the edition 2011 of Souvenir, the clothing label Leandro Dominguez y Correspondencia were collaborations with friend projects, but now they intend to create a series related to the kitchen, whose first opens the post and the second is in preparation here is.

They're two to follow closely. Those who want more info can subscribe to the Vimeo channel y/o contactar a Colmenero por medio de la información publicada en ese mismo link.

Links:
KucheBA.com.ar

Photos: Paula Alvarado.

Guillermina Luz Sanchez is an architect, artist and part of the bicycle-worshipers clan that makes Critical Mass Buenos Aires. I met her recently through Felix, and a few days ago I tagged along on a getaway to visit her house at Ingeniero Maschwitz (which, as I learned later, OhLaLa magazine considers a ‘cool circuit ').

Her current space is a recycled garage where one can spend hours taking a close look at all the little things she has on tables, shelves, hanging. In another context, I would find a stuffed house a bit overwhelming, pero encontré a la de Guillermina llena de vida.

In a workshop on the back, along with her assistant Jose, she also makes experiments with LED lights and discarded electronic materials. Among them, a bird (toy) illuminated, candlesticks with small glass containers and bottles, games with colored lights.

Here I share some pictures of the house and of a beautiful day. Espero que mi hogar sea algún día tan inspirador.

Photos: Paula Alvarado.

After a few months of nomadic life, I'm beginning to frequent some spaces of Buenos Aires again, and last week I was twice at the gallery Patio del Liceo for an opening at Mite and an event at The President. I was quite impressed by how different the gallery is. So much, que tuve que ir a mi archivo para corroborar que la imagen previa que tenía del lugar fuera real.

Thus, by stirring bytes, I found some pictures I took in August 2009, una de las primeras veces que pasé por allí.

Although sometimes I get nostalgic seeing how places lose the charm of the hidden, I must admit that the gallery has developed without losing its original spirit.

De hecho es interesante que ahora la gran mayoría de los locales estén alquilados y que se haya juntado un grupo de gente lo suficientemente diverso como para que pasen cosas diferentes todo el tiempo.

If you don't know it still or if it's been a long time since you went there, I recommend a visit. Especially to MitePurr, Kuku, Greens and to the shop opened by the South Africans from The President.

The gallery also opened a Facebook page con novedades.

Sidenote: The drawing in the photo that opens this post is by painter of blue boys looking sideways Diego Roa, who was featured in the Si segment some days ago. Me pregunto si uno de los dos blogs que menciona al final de la nota será BAI.

It's been a few years since I bought Christmas presents, and since 2009 I ask people that for my birthday they get me something handmade, a plant, or nothing at all. However, if I had to get or receive a present, elegiría alguno de estos.

Set with totebag, laptop case and pouch by Nido / Garments made with natural fibers and responsible manufacture by Cubreme / Muslin scarves by Maricel Nowacki / Objects by Trenza and Julián Gatto at Souvenir.

Photos: Paula Alvarado.

A few days ago I was in the gorgeous city of Lobos (about 100 km. southwest from Buenos Aires) y quedé enamorada de la sede del Club Social.

From the Mayor's office website:

“The Lobos Orfeon Society was founded on 1 March 1894, with the goal of creating a music school. Once organized, it functioned under the direction of master Emilio Zarini, one of the first local musicians. Since its foundation, this society occupied several venues until in 1908 had its own building built in this same parcel, which was demolished in 1932, year in which the new social venue was set. The new building is a two-story, with a neoclassic facade and a surface of 510 m2. Afterwards it expanded to the street level on street Pte. Peron. A few years later and until today, the Lobos Social Club would start functioning there, which organizes concerts and events and social parties.”

In the lower level, there's a restaurant open to the public. At Salgado Oeste street on the corner of Presidente Juan Domingo Perón, Lobos.

Below there are some images of the central square, streets, the library (with a reading table with newspapers on the street!) y una verdulería slow de la ciudad.

Images: Maricel Nowacki.

In an improvised stop by Taller Canoa a few weeks ago, I was able to find more about the work of Maricel Nowacki, graphic designer and artist native from my southern lands (her, from Quilmes) with whom we had crossed paths several times at the sweet Club del Libro.

Besides drawing, Nowacki has an interest in objects that led her into jewelry and pottery, y más recientemente en el traslado de algunas de sus obras a estos hermosos pañuelos de muselina.

As she describes, in her work you can see something persistent, “the insistence of a stroke, the narration of the same story” that generates a kind of “continuous melody”.

“The images of my drawings show the continuity of a timeless world where wildlife reflects human ways, contradictions and intentions”, dice, and the wild is seen in both the first set of scarves and in other works from the artist which can be checked at Bola de Nieve.

Currently, cshe says she's researching fabrics and printing techniques, probablemente para expandir la serie.

At Canoa (the workshop she shares with artists Julián Gatto and Pablo Cabrera), Nowacki gives drawing classes and organizes students shows. The workshop intends to move their practices to a natural area in the summer, así que manténganse conectados.

The scarves, a nice alternative to the absurd-Christmas-presents disease, se pueden comprar por Etsy o contactando a la diseñadora a través de su site.

Links:
Maricel Nowacki
The scarves on EtsyMaricel Nowackiref="http://boladenieve.org.ar/node/815">Snowball Interview

Imagen vía Proa.

I must admit that Museums' Night has not been super exciting for me over the past few years: every space is too crowded, no se puede ver nada y encima las noches de noviembre no son lo suficientemente cálidas como para esperar con ganas en la calle.

But this year I'll give it a new chance, since the Fundación Proa is promoting an outdoor activity at La Boca. It is an intervention of the Nicolás Avellaneda bridge with lights and sounds created by Sigismond de Vajay for his project Of Bridges & Borders.

According to information provided by Proa, there will be performances from Buenos Aires Sonora, Biosphere (Norway) and Scanner (England), while lighting spiders will invite people to think about recovering this space (where one of the most polluted rivers in the world lives).

The show begins this Saturday 12 November at 20.00, with the sunset, and will last approximately 60 minutos.

Strangely, they say that “the show will end with fireworks”, lo cual tiene muy poco de sensibilidad ambiental.

In addition to the presentation, Proa will open its doors until midnight with the show Gods, myths and rituals of Pre Hispanic Mexico and at the Foundation website they recommend visiting the young gallery Popa (Lamadrid 882) en los alrededores del barrio.

Links:
Proa.org
LaNochedelosMuseos.gob.ar