Author: Highstreet
On July 14, 2022, Simon Van Paris from Belgium and the artistic duo Anne Feres and Luke Conroy from the Netherlands presented their art in the Cat and Mouse space. LOCAL in Trap. The three talked about their experience so far in different cities and with different contexts, as well as shared their impressions of Plovdiv.
Simon is a sculptor, he often works with various found materials and objects, from which he creates sculptural portraits of the cities in which he resides. He has been in Plovdiv for a month, actively collecting materials and working on his work, which he plans to present in the Old Town.
With their art, Anne and Luke try to destroy tourist stereotypes and create more syncretic pictures of places and cities with their art They often approach with irony, but also a lot of love, discovering unsuspected images and objects from the routine of everyday life.
This year, the residents of ContextAiR share a common space, in the LALA Atelier residential center on the outskirts of Plovdiv, which turns them into a mini artistic community dedicated to Plovdiv and predisposes to the creative exchange of ideas and experiences between them. Very quickly, all three found their routes in the city, discovering the neighborhoods, secrets, and beautiful views with an unusual and curious look. Every contact with the local context and with the people of the city is an experience and an inspiration for them.
Anne and Luke share beautiful images from everyday Plovdiv on their Instagram account @news_from_home
Simon creates a video diary of his residency, capturing experiences from day one at https://www.studiovanparys.com/blog
Until the end of July, the sculptural portrait of Plovdiv by Simon Van Paris will be presented. And in August, Anne Feres and Luke Conroy will create their mural dedicated to the city.
ContextAiR is a program for creative residencies in the city of Plovdiv, which was initiated in 2021 by the Municipality of Plovdiv. From 2022, ContextAiR is curated by Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva, and the program opens up to international participation.
In October, within the framework of the program, the fourth and last creative residency for 2022 will take place in Plovdiv: by the Armenian choreographer and dance performer Rima Pipoyan.
Facebook @ContextAiR
Instagram @contextplovdiv