International Border Art Festival: Networks of Exchange and Development
In 2007, a group of artists gathered in the city of Lima, Peru, with the purpose of staging a performance in the outskirts of the territory. The conditions and ways of life of those who resided in that place reminded Khosro Adibi of his origins and the desire to relate his work as an artist to the community, especially the children.
These questions led to the creation of the artistic network “International Performers Laboratory”. This connection composed of artists and educators from different countries resulted in Fronteras, which was referred to as a mobile school for Khosro.
“The aim of Fronteras is to connect local artists with an international network to support the cultural development of the community where this exchange of knowledge can take place. The Festival is the starting point of a long-term process, in which organizations and individuals engage in the project to continue what we have started,” explained the artist.
The motivation of the organizing team is to integrate Concepción into the network of cities participating in the Fronteras Festivals, which implies that artists and educators from our city can work alongside foreign artists in the development of workshops in places such as Los Lobos, Santa Clara, and Cerro San Francisco in Talcahuano; Pedro del Río, Tucapel Bajo, Barrio Norte, Agüita de la Perdiz, Palomares, among others.
“This network of artistic work managed to benefit more than 500 people in these communes; therefore, it was meticulously articulated work in collaboration with this international collaborative network. This initiative remains active in Brazil, and it is hoped that we can revive it in Concepción once again,” stated Andrés Torres, co-founder of the CreaSur Cultural Center.
Fronteras has grown exponentially, as evidenced by the fact that in 2010 alone, seven versions of the festival were held, involving a total of nine cities spread across five countries in Latin America. Furthermore, Torres elaborates that within the projections of this network, “there is the idea of having a permanent space in the cities where the festival has been developed.”