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It is with great satisfaction that the Cultural Center of the
Inter-American Development Bank presents the second Inter-American
Biennial of Video Art.
The objectives of the competition, as stated in the guidelines,
were to: 1) broaden the discussion of economic and social factors
that affect Latin America and the Caribbean; 2) encourage those
working in the cultural milieu to use their creative abilities
to formulate viewpoints that enhance public awareness and understanding
of those factors; and 3) establish a benchmark for the advancement
of video art as a form of expression in the region. These objectives
are similar to those of our first video competition in 2002
since the IDB Cultural Center’s initiative reflects the
IDB’s social development agenda, and this differentiates
it from other international video art competitions.
Although the number of participants in the current version of
the Biennial (160 videos from 18 countries) is fewer than those
submitted in 2002 (231 videos from 21 countries), the works
in the present exhibit more closely follow the established guidelines.
Two years ago many artists submitted works that were out of
context and, in many cases, appeared oblivious of the regulations;
this forced the disqualification of many entries, and was not
the case this time. We also wanted to keep the Biennial open
to whoever wished to participate in order to offer the opportunity
to as many artists as possible, as opposed to other competitions
where curators preselect the participants. It is part of the
Biennial’s philosophy to remain open and give the opportunity
to anyone, especially those that are not part of established
artistic circles.
This
year the Biennial received entries from countries that did not
participate at all in the 2002 competition, such as Honduras
and Nicaragua. But we did not receive any entries from IDB member
countries such as Bahamas, Belize, El Salvador, Haiti, Jamaica,
Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, or Uruguay. In fact, Bahamas
and Jamaica are so far the only two countries that have not
submitted entries in either of the two competitions. Perhaps
the political situation in Haiti prevented artists from participating
this year (although the Cultural Center was able to include
video and digital photography in the exhibit “Vive Haiti!
Contemporary Art of the Haitian Diaspora,” presented in
its art gallery during May-August of this year, in celebration
of Haiti’s 200th Anniversary of its independence). Also,
it is not a secret that the availability of technology continues
to be a problem for some countries in the region, especially
in the Caribbean. |
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