CAPOCOA’s work in the international arena did not stop during lockdown but was accelerated thanks to the wonders of Zoom. Over the past year, Canadian presenters and artists were able to join colleagues from across South America as part of a series of international cohorts. Meeting weekly, each cohort shared personal concerns, issues and challenges of living in lockdown as well as insightful and engaging studio visits to learn more about each other’s artistic practices, inspirations, passions and visions.
We now wish to share with you a glimpse into the world of some of our colleagues from South America, to help you gain insight into this part of the world, home to extraordinary artists and many international festivals, and one that has been particularly hard hit by covid and is now slowly emerging.
José Miguel Onaindia
Lawyer, teacher, cultural manager. In Argentina, he presided over the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts, was General Coordinator of Culture at the University of Buenos Aires in charge of the Ricardo Rojas Cultural Center, in addition to an intense activity in non-governmental cultural and human rights organizations. In Uruguay, he was artistic advisor of the Teatro Solís, artistic director of FIDAE (International Festival of Performing Arts) and of the Cervantino Festival of Uruguay, Coordinator of INAE. He is currently Advisor forInternationalization of the Arts at the Directorate of Cultural Promotion of the Municipality of Montevideo. He has been a consultant for UNESCO and representative of Argentina in Ibermedia and Uruguay in Iberescena.
Marina Pampin
Artistic and general producer in the area of the performing arts, in the commercial and independent theater circuit, cultural NGOs, as well as for state organizations.Cultural manager, curator, and programmer of cultural spaces, articulator of cultural projects with social implications.Since 2020, Manager of performing arts training and community relations at the CTBA, Department of Culture of Buenos Aires.Since 2018: observer member of the Red Latinoamericana de Creación e Investigaciónof University Theater Creation and Research (CITU). Since 2007: Buenos Aires core of the Network of Cultural Promoters of Latin America and the Caribbean (Red de Promotores Culturales de América Latina y Caribe).Latin America and the Caribbean. Founding member of the Centro de Arte-Ciencia de la UNSAM.
Juan Pablo López Otero
He is a social communicator – journalist with a master’s degree in cultural development and international project management from the University of Lyon in France. He began his professional career as an advisor to the Secretary of Culture of Cali, later served as Cultural Director of the Alliance Française of Cali for 10 years and recently worked as an advisor to the Office of the Minister of Culture between 2011 and 2018. He has been coordinator of Palco, Performing Arts Platform of the Ministry of Culture, Coordinator of performing arts for the year France – Colombia in association with the French Institute and co-director of the Mercado de Industrias Culturales del Sur, Micsur 2016, taking place in Bogota. Since 2012, he is the Artistic Director of Bienal Internacional de Danza de Cali.
Alejandro Clavier
Venezuelan-Peruvian interdisciplinary artist based in Lima who presents productions in theatrical, audiovisual, and curatorial formats. Since 2013 he has directed Sala de Parto, the program for emerging performing artists at La Plaza Theater, which aims to stimulate the birth of new Peruvian works and creators. His work as an artist has been invited to Festivals in Peru, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Panama, and Northern Ireland. In 2019, he was part of the delegation of young Latin American theater directors at the Avignon Festival, organized by the French Embassy.
Francisca Peró Gubler
Bachelor in Humanities and actress from PUC, with studies at the UCLA Acting School. From 2017 to date she has been the Executive Director of Biobío Theater. She is coordinator of national and international artistic programming of performing arts at GAM (2010 – 2017), in addition to teaching in the area of acting between the years 2006 – 2016. She has taken several courses, including training in management and programming and a course of internationalization of performing arts. She has participated as a programmer in various cultural industries markets (FIBA, Fringe Festival Edinburgh, APAM, Girart, MICSUR). She has also managed international programming, such as Ciclo off Buenos Aires GAM, Ciclo de danza nórdico GAM, Ciclo de Circo Australiano in Chile, and Diminuto Circus tour to Australia.
Paula de Renor
Actress, producer and director of Remo Produções Artísticas since 1983. She has produced several plays, including two international co-productions with Portugal and the Netherlands. She was the designer and manager of Teatro Armazém (Armazém 14) for 11 years, a reference space for independent production in the city and also one of the producers/programmers of Janeiro de Grandes Espetáculos – International Festival of Performing Arts of Perambuco for 17 years. She is the theater and opera representative of the State Council of Cultural Policy of Pernambuco, director of the Luiz Mendonça Theater in the city of Recife, and director of RESIDE-International Theater Festival of Pernambuco, in its 3rd edition.
Hosted by:
Jim Smith
Following studies in music and then commerce, Jim worked in tourism for the Government of Ontario. In 1990 he moved to Montreal and began working in the professional Canadian arts sector at La La La Human Steps. After a move to Vancouver, Jim co-founded Eponymous, an arts management and production agency. Under the aegis of Eponymous, Jim is currently associated with Company 605, Compagnie Vision Selective, Kidd Pivot, Les Productions Figlio, Wen Wei Dance, and Vancouver New Music. He also represents Veda Hille, Crystal Pite and Wen Wei Wang. In 2007 Jim co-founded and is the current Artistic and Executive Director of DanceHouse, a subscription series of large-scale dance presentations at the Vancouver Playhouse. Jim is a past President of the Canadian Dance Assembly, a founding member of Made In BC, and has sat on a number of other not for profit boards of directors. He is currently on the board of the Canadian Arts Presenting Association (CAPACOA) where he is chair of the International Development Committee.