Helena Producciones

Helena Producciones

Helena Producciones, an independent collective established and managed by artists, was founded in 1998 in Cali. Its members research contemporary Colombian art and explore an array of exhibition and educational formats in order to produce their projects and publications. Their joint artistic efforts began when Cali, the capital city of Valle del Cauca, a department (or state) on Colombia’s southwest coast, was in economic and social crisis as the result of the previous decade’s excess and violence. At a moment when there were few opportunities for a new generation of artists, Helena Producciones acted as a catalyst for local and regional art production, fostering intergenerational dialogue and approaching vital social and cultural issues with a fresh perspective. The collective’s first projects evolved around parties with an exhibition component, which were followed by more ambitious ventures such as LOOP, a television program that aired in Cali from 2000–2001 on the Universidad del Valle’s campus television channel. The program introduced local artists and bands, using a performance-cum-variety show format in an effort to implode the televised medium from inside. When the programming turned controversial the universit y suspended its support, and LOOP evolved into a videoPproject. The group’s most notable project is the Festival de Performance de Cali. Initially a platform for experimentation by local artists, the festival has evolved over time, expanding to genres beyond performance and becoming international in scope. During these one-week events, art projects and performances take over the city’s plazas, streets, galleries, and art spaces. There have been seven festivals to date, with programs that included lectures by curators and art historians, exhibitions, workshops, video screenings, and media interventions. Although the festival has received logistic and production support from various institutions, it continues to be conceivedw independently by Helena Producciones and reflectsw the collective’s grassrootsPspirit.w In 2005 Helena Producciones curated the 11 Salónw Regional de Artistas, zona Pacífico, a juried exhibitionw funded by the Colombian government. Thew collective extensively researched the three departmentsw (states) of Cauca, Chocó, and Valle del Cauca,w exploring topics such as social geography, historw y, colonialism, economics, and political power.w The exercise of physically traveling to these ruralw areas, and temporarily leaving behind the city ofw Cali, proved to be formative. Later that year, membersw of the collective returned to the countrysidew with the goal of developing a forum for dialoguew and exchange between artists and craftspeople,w and they initiated a program called La Escuelaw Móvil de Saberes y Práctica Social de Helenaw Producciones (Helena Producciones Traveling Schoolw of Knowledge and Social Practice). The school generatesw projects that empower the community throughw local cultural practices, aiming to produce long-termw sustainable processes both on the economic andw the social level. Its curriculum is determined by thew desires and needs of the participants and includesw discussion groups about local history, developmentw of products that can support the local economy, andw even a class that teaches the traditional art of fencing
with machetes.

—María del Carmen Carríon