By Nathan M. Walters, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – MoLA, Mostra Livre de Artes (Free Arts Show), kicks off tonight, October 31st at Circo Voador. The event, which starts a little over a week after the legendary venue celebrated its thirty year anniversary, brings together a collection of artists for four nights of performances showcasing new talent.
The event, now in its seventh edition, extends Circo Voador’s commitment to hosting up-and-coming artists. While established musical acts on their way up might grace Circo Voador’s stage nightly, MoLA offers a platform for undiscovered new talent to present their work.
Over four days (the event ends November 3rd) musicians, poets, visual artists, and installation artists will perform and exhibit alongside theater performances and film showings.
“It is really like a carnival,” says Eduarda ‘Duda’ Ribeiro, one of the curators of the event, “The terrace will be filled with enormous installations, video projections, interactive art, films, while musicians perform on the stage.”
Circo Voador has a long tradition of reaching out to the arts community and supporting the development of youth culture in Rio. While the venue’s Digital Festival in June turned the spotlight on the relationship between technology and art, MoLA places emphasis on youth involvement in art in Brazil.
“This is a festival for the youth of Rio, a chance to give new artists the opportunity to present their work that lack of money would otherwise prevent,” says Ribeiro. “It is also a great opportunity for the public to recognize the people that are doing something different in the art world.”
The event is free before 9PM (with registration and the donation of a book), and is in step with Circo Voador’s role as the breeding ground for the next cultural developments in Rio.
Seven installations will be included on the terrace grounds, and around the venue. Among them, an inflatable sculpture, that attendees can enter and see video projections, from German artist Anton Steenbock and giant origami style pieces from Leandra Espírito Santo.
The event is also a birthday celebration for two of the audiovisual clubs that will each curate one night of cinema; Cachaça Cinema Club and Mate com Angu both celebrate their ten-year anniversary during the event.
MoLA includes nightly headliners-big names in Brazilian music, among them Di Melo (October 31st), Bixiga 70 (November 1st), Mallu Magalhães (November 2nd), and BiD – Two Bambas (November 3rd)-but the new artists performing at the event is the reason to attend.
The list of musical acts is too long to include here, though one of the most interesting acts, Tigre Dente de Sabre (Saber-toothed Tiger) should not be missed.
When speaking of performing at MoLA, band member Marcos Leite Till said: “The event of a ritual where people leave transformed, rather than just entertained. We do not play to express ourselves, we play to transform ourselves.”
Rio is ascending as one of the most important art centers in Latin America. The upward path not only requires an increase in galleries and art fairs, but equally important, more opportunities for budding artists to cut their teeth, and MoLA offers the new generation of talent just that.
Location: Circo Voador, Rua dos Arcos, S/N, Lapa
Dates: Wednesday, October 31st – November 3rd, 2012
Time: Doors open at 6PM
Cost: After 9PM, R$15-R$30
More information: cargocollective.com/mola/inscricoes
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