About

John Arnold. Achiote Cenote. 2017. © AKI AORA AKI AORA is derived from the Spanish words AQUI and AHORA, meaning HERE and NOW. AKI AORA is a platform for cultural dialogue and reflection on current global events and an annual research program for emerging artists conceived in Tulum, Mexico. We are a temporary experimental music studio and exhibition space which manifests itself for a few weeks once a year, opening a window into rarely seen processes of work in art, film and music. AKI AORA is interested in investigating the symbiosis between locals and foreigners, inviting artists to explore nature as their auditorium. During the residency we focus on asking questions about how artistic practice and public intervention can contribute to the social fabric.

John Arnold. Achiote Cenote. 2017. © AKI AORA

AKI AORA is derived from the Spanish words AQUI and AHORA, meaning HERE and NOW. AKI AORA is a platform for cultural dialogue and reflection on current global events and an annual research program for emerging artists conceived in Tulum, Mexico.

We are a temporary experimental music studio and exhibition space which manifests itself for a few weeks once a year, opening a window into rarely seen processes of work in art, film and music.

AKI AORA is interested in investigating the symbiosis between locals and foreigners, inviting artists to explore nature as their auditorium. During the residency we focus on asking questions about how artistic practice and public intervention can contribute to the social fabric.

Location

AKI AORA 2018 will take place in Tulum, an area rich in natural resources, flora, fauna and stunning unique topography. Tulum is renowned for its Cenotes: a characteristically Mexican geological phenomenon that has been revered since Mayan times. These subterranean water bodies connect oceans, mangroves and lagoons, and have served as natural temples for thousands of years.

AKI AORA 2018 will take place in Tulum, an area rich in natural resources, flora, fauna and stunning unique topography. Tulum is renowned for its Cenotes: a characteristically Mexican geological phenomenon that has been revered since Mayan times. These subterranean water bodies connect oceans, mangroves and lagoons, and have served as natural temples for thousands of years.

 
Dear Friends, AKI AORA and Aperto Raum invite you to an Artist Talk and a presentation of the Video work “The Missing T” by Ahmet Öğüt. September 29th, 2018 at 6 pm @apertoraum Sophienstraße 21, 2|3 Sophie-Gips-Höfe. Berlin- Mitte. AKI AORA is a platform for cultural dialogue and reflection on current global events and an annual research program for emerging artists conceived in Tulum, Mexico. Sally Montes Head curator Masha Isserlis Co-curator#videoart #berlin #berlinart #herenow #akiaoraherenow
Installation view @Salon 63. Art and salon collaborations curated by @sashagalitzine #salon63 #divinedestiny #contemporaryart
AKI AORA 2017 John Arnold Achiote Cenote: An exploration of the mystical and material symbolism of both Achiote and Cenote on Maya terms. The conceptual dinner was set out to intertwine in taste and in implementation both qualities of Achiote as a spice and as a pigment in the very specific location of the Cenote with its implied magic through the transference of color, ritual and sacrifice where both spiritual and physical nourishment collide. At first John Arnold (1975, based in Berlin) built a pirate style color laboratory to explore the pigment form of achiote where he invited guests also to participate in the experience of the color. Natural objects like the cups and bowls inspired by traditional Mayan vessels and even the napkins were printed there. During the dinner the artist took the visitors on a very special journey, which created an unforgettable experience of nature, light, sound and taste. #akiaora #akiaoraherenow #akiaoratulum #cenote #dinner #cena #art #artecontemporáneo @jarniarni
Behind the scenes with artist @ahmet__ogut for his film « The missing T ». Commissioned and produced by AKI AORA 2018. More to come! #contemporaryart #tulum #artecontemporáneo #akiaoraherenow #akiaoratulum #akiaora
Intimate moments during AKI AORA 2018 with Hendrik Weber a.k.a @panthaduprince_official. We are a temporary experimental music studio and exhibition space which manifests itself for a few weeks once a year, opening a window into rarely seen processes of work in art, film and music. #tulum #mexico #panthaduprince #bells #openwindow #artecontemporaneo #jungle #akiaora #akiaoraherenow #experimentalmusic #akiaoratulum #contemporaryart #residenciaartistica #artistresidency #womencurators #performanceart
AKI AORA 2017 #artecontemporaneo #contemporaryart #tulum #arte #art #exhibition #artistrunspace #artistas #finearts #artistresidency #nonprofit #artfoundation #asociacioncivil #comunidad #currentglobalevents #jungle #performance #screening #film #utopianexperiment #poetry #philosophy #socialissues #arteyresistencia
Image and photo by @carlitoxtrujillo. AKI AORA 2017 publication. #arte #tulum #art #photography #beach #pyramid #imagen #image #akiaoratulum #akiaoraherenow #akiaora #artistresidency #artbook
“PERREADORXS AGUAFIESTAS” INVASORIX AKI AORA 2018 Durante la residencia AKI AORA (Tulum, 2018) exploramos a través del cuerpo y el baile, algunos géneros musicales para “perrear”, como: reguetón, dancehall, funky carioca, champeta, choke, etc. lo que dio lugar a PERREADORXS AGUAFIESTAS, propuesta en la que realizamos diferentes provocaciones como formas de protesta cuir-feminista. Llamado abierto a la comunidad. Open call. #artecontemporaneo #contemporaryart #invasorix #queerartist #feminista #feminist #performance #performanceart #perreadorasmáximas #reggaeton #film #perreointenso #artinpublicspaces #comunidad #comunity #artistresidency #tulum #mexico
#akiaoraherenow #akiaora #arte #tulum #art #exhibition #artisresidency #jungle #conservation #utopiadystopia
Inspired by John Milton´s Paradise lost poem, Rogelio´s work during AKI AORA focused on exploring themes of devastation of the environment and Mayan mythology using sound as the main medium. The research resulted in the deconstruction of prehispanic instruments played live via electronic devices that the artist operated during the piece accompanied by four actors throughout a two hour long play that combined ritualistic practice with synchronized actions that were meant to remind the audience of the demise of eden - alluding to a paradise that is eventually destroyed. Different narrations in Mayan language described the creation of the world and human being, with its descent towards death and the end of times. The Mayan narrations were intertwined by another voice in English that spoke of anthropological themes that study colonialism, sauvage man and shamanism. #rogeliososa #performance #finearts #arte #tulum #art #paradiselost #artecontemporaneo #artesonoro #soundart #soundartist
Sally Montes (1981,based in Mexico City) is interested in the abstraction of material or immaterial data and or information as an agent for escaping the privatizacion and monopoly of traditional media. Her work often deals with researching new ways to smuggle information. Her most recent work involves whistled speech used in an isolated community in the Mazatec sierra mountain range. Sally Montes. Installation view 2017. AKI AORA #arte #tulum #art #nonprofitorganization #artfoundation #artistresidency #artecontemporaneo #sallymontes #finearts #jungle #symbiosis #broadcast #auditorium #megaphone #exhibition #communication #tools #bridges #comunidad #comunity #localartist #local #radio #auditorio #artista #mexico #installationart #hackers #lifehacks #resist
Film still from “Innumerables” by Sally Montes. #arte #iztaccihuatl #cinematography #cine #art #womenartists #mexico #mujeres #socialactivism #sleepingvolcano #finearts #contemporaryart #artecontemporaneo #comunidad #innumerables #numberless #lamujerdormidaiztaccihuatl #8demarzo #niunamas
Invasorix performance “Perreadoras aguafiestas”. AKI AORA 2018. #arte #feministas #art #tulum #perreadoras #contemporaryart #performanceart #performance #queerartist #invasorix #finearts #artistresidency #comunidad #nonprofit #powertothepeople #mujeres #comunidad #perreointenso #sitespecifc #artecontemporaneo #invasion
Our new home! Stay tuned... AKI AORA 2019 #art #tulum #arte #akiaora #siankaanbiosphere #jungle #art #nature
Jacob Kirkegaard. AKI AORA 2017. Being invited by Aki Aora to explore the mysterious acoustic environments of the Cenotes around Tulum has been a unique opportunity for Jacob Kirkegaard to create a sound installation based on these hidden and unheard sounds. The Cenotes are a popular spot among tourists, when the visitors leave the acoustics of the spaces can be purely sensed and the before so silent animals such as bats and crickets take over the spaces. #tulum #art #cenote #arte #akiaora #soundart #recordingnature #artesonoro #nonprofit #foundation #tulum #nature #bats #crickets #arte #contemporary
Walter Benjamin allegedly delivered his famous lecture “The Author as Producer” at the Institute for the Study of Fascism in Paris on April 27th, 1934. The Institution itself has since remained a matter of dispute regarding its existence and purpose. Some claim that the Institute never actually existed, that it was merely a fiction created by Benjamin, while others claimed that it was actually an espionage organization controlled by the Soviet Union. Regardless, what we know is that today it does in fact exist, at the very least as a lived fiction, and has been operational at AKI AORA 2017. The purpose of the Institute is to carry out artistic research on the formation of the contemporary forces of fascism that are seizing hold of power today, and develop poetic means for how these organizations can be combatted. On January 21st, one day after the inauguration of Donald Trump, Blake Shaw and Bikini Wax (Paloma Contreras&José Rodrigo García) delivered an audio-visual performance that combined elements of the lecture format and video art to explain the products of their research, and to deliver to the audience the tools they have developed. « The Institute for the study of fascism » by Blake Shaw, Paloma Contreras and Rodrigo García from Biquini Wax Eps. AKI AORA 2017. #tulum #art #arte #akiaora #performance #biquiniwaxeps #greenscreenfilming #sitespecific #walterbenjamin #artistcollective #resist #poetry #performance #poesia #videoarte #videoart #audiovisual #fact #fiction #questioneverything #contemporaryart #artecontemporaneo
« The Institute for the study of fascism » by Blake Shaw, Paloma Contreras and Rodrigo García from Biquini Wax Eps. AKI AORA 2017. #tulum #art #akiaora #performance #biquiniwaxeps #greenscreen #sitespecific #walterbenjamin #artistcollective #resist
John Arnold. AKI AORA 2017. #projection #cenote #tulum #art #akiaora #artist
Cuando invitamos a nuestros amigos de Radio Candela Valladolid ( la Radio en lenguaje Maya local ) a transmitir la exhibición de AKI AORA 2017 Como parte del trabajo de Sally Montes para crear un puente con las comunidades Mayas de la Zona. #tulum #art #akiaora #comunity #mayan #language #radio #performance #radiocandela #artistrunspace