MALI Museum, one of the artistic legs of Lima
The cultural scene is no stranger to this frenzy . A cultural manager, Zoë Massey, a painter and sculptor, Fernando Otero y Ferrer, and a writer, Fernando González Nohra, tell us first-hand how they experience this process and what are the places they frequent and inspire them . All three are in their thirties, and they share a passionate love for their city, which they decisively incorporate into their creative vision and projects.
** Zoë Massey , cultural manager, commits to art open to the city**
Zoë is a photographer, she has had a good number of exhibitions behind her and this year she has participated in the first biennial of photography in Lima with the work 'It's not you, it's Me' . In addition, she has been working in art galleries for years and now she manages the project of late night , a non-profit artist collective.
She tells me that with the socio-economic development and a more stable situation, it can be felt that people are asking for more massive cultural events. She is committed to alternative spaces that provide a more lively and enriching vision of art.
Her headquarters is Barranco: “It is still a bohemian landmark of the capital, It has about fifteen art galleries, cultural centers, museums, plastic artists' workshops, new and old bars, a contemporary art museum under construction and peñas -Peruvian music, dance and party venues-". 2012 has been the year of the third edition of LimaPhoto, the 1st Biennial of Photography and the second Night On White . This last event, in which thousands of people have taken to the streets, It has served to demonstrate that there is security in the city and that there is capacity for organization. n.
Zoë also highlights that the historic center is a hub for art and culture , with events such as ** Open Center , with urban artistic actions**. Among the galleries and cultural centers that Zoë highlights are: Spain Cultural Center. Cecilia Gonzalez, Lucia de La Puente, Gallery of the Municipality of Miraflores. And small alternative spaces, such as the Bar La Noche Cultural Center, with exhibitions, concerts, theater, jazz, a short film festival and a great bar.
"It's not you, it's me" by Zoë Massey
Fernando González Nohra, writer, brings us closer to two classics with a literary flavor
In the land of Vargas Llosa, Bryce Echenique, César Vallejo and Ribeyro, new literary voices are emerging that narrate stories from the identity and roots of Lima . Among them is Fernando Gonzalez Nohra , who was a Finalist for the Mario Vargas Llosa Award with the book 'Please, don't push', and who is currently writing his third novel, after the success of 'Carroñero' (Quadrivium 2010). Of the critics have highlighted his corrosive sense of humor and his narrative brilliance along the lines of Fante, Miller or Bukowski.
He guides us, with the enthusiasm that characterizes him, to a mythical bar, **El Cordano, and to the El Virrey ** bookstore. At Bar Cordano, founded in 1905, you breathe an air of social gatherings, nights of smoke and endless pisco . Fernando details how there, many writers and poets have written some of his best lines. Martín Adán, one of the greats of the Latin American avant-garde, frequented it and it is said that he delivered his texts here to his publisher, written on local napkins. Allen Ginsberg himself indulged in unlimited pisco there.
It is located in the heart of the city, in front of the Government Palace, and leads to the spectacular House of Peruvian Literature, opened two years ago in the rehabilitated old Los Desamparados train station. “I like that it is full of history and that it remains as it was at its inauguration. ; When I was younger and they allowed smoking, I liked to think that the ashtray in which I left my ashes was perhaps the same one used by Martín Adán or Allen Ginsberg, in the hope that it would influence me in some way”, says Fernando.
In any of the two establishments of the El Virrey bookstore, González Nohra almost always finds what he is looking for. One of them has a wonderful cafeteria and in the other, in the absence of a cafe, a chess board and two armchairs have been installed to comfortably play a game. In Fernando Lima's books he is just another character , the protagonists of it move freely through its streets and he describes in detail its corners, its lights and its shadows.
Regarding the evolution of interest in literature, Fernando explains: "Bookstore chains have proliferated and old nightlife centers now host book launches and poetry readings . There are enormous and positive perspectives, because, once they satisfy the primary needs, the population begins to feel hungry for another type of food either. Today it is perceived that they are eager for culture and learning ".
Fernando González Nohra in the middle of the Lima (cultural) earthquake
Fernando Otero y Ferrer, painter and sculptor, shows his eclectic influences
Until May 30 you can see his new exhibition, 'Laberinto', at the El Olivar Cultural Center , an exhibition that was already part of La Semana del Arte . The specialized press describes him as “an artist with a very personal language, often difficult to read; It is a painting where the great interest that the artist has for space , not necessarily as empty, but rather as latent, vibrant, disturbing and questioning energy ” .
Fernando Otero feels immersed in an artistic panorama that is growing rapidly: “ There is a maelstrom of events and inaugurations , young artists emerge all the time. Although I don't feel influenced by anyone around me, Sandra Gamarra is an artist of my generation who is doing interesting work…”
As a center of relations and operations, it has the bar of the Rafael restaurant, designed by the architect Jordi Puig, and whose owner, Raphael Osterling , is considered one of the best chefs in Peru and the world. A place with all kinds of public, modern and heterogeneous, several works by Fernando hang in the restaurant.
What place where he is inspired points us to the MALI art museum , located in a wonderful palace of 1800, of eclectic style. Exhibitions, auctions or conferences of contemporary and ancient art are held there, from "Portraits" by Mario Testino to the art of pre-Hispanic cultures . There is a wonderful restaurant and a specialized bookstore. Finally, you can not leave without reviewing the circuit of galleries of Barranco , essential in Lima: the art gallery WU Ediciones, 80 Square Meters, or Lucía de la Puente.
A few weeks ago there was an earthquake in Lima measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale . I was surprised that no one gave it too much importance. Perhaps everything is moving so much on the asphalt, that for the people of Lima to notice something that happens under their feet, an earthquake like the one in 1746 would have to arrive. In fact, what is happening there every day is a true cultural earthquake, a continuous transformation of a city that wants to be heard.
One of the 'labyrinths' of Fernando Otero and Ferrer