In its first edition, AKI AORA invited artists and speakers to participate, the invited artists were John Arnold (EU), Blake Shaw (EU), Paloma Contreras Lomas and Jose Rodrigo Garcia (MEX) from Bikini Wax, Jacob Kirkegaard (DK), Sally Montes (MEX), Baby Vulture (MEX) and as the invited guest speaker, Robin Kahn (EU). The live performances were by Baby Vulture (MEX), Superpoze (FR), and Damian Romero (MX).
In its second edition, AKI AORA invited: Taus Makhacheva (Russia), Invasorix (Mexico), Mario García Torres (Mexico), Ahmet Ogut (Turkey), Interspecifics (Mexico), Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith (United States), Pantha du Prince (Germany), Rogelio Sosa (Mexico), Paul Miller, known as DJ Spooky (United States), Mariana David (Mexico) and Nika Chilewich (United States).
For the 2019 edition we invited artists to consider guerrilla tactics in their work as well as the Anthropocene in order to respond to the recent expansion of slow and invisible violence that has come with the promise of economic growth, progress and ‘well being’ as implied by buzz words and ‘aspirational’ branding with terms like ‘eco chic’ while simultaneously disrupting the region´s biodiversity.
We have invited back Nabil Yanai, Liz Misterio and Unx from Invasorix collective (MEX) to build on their research from last year and were excited to welcome new residents: Wendy Cabrera Rubio (MEX) and Josué Mejía (MEX), Fallen Fruit (USA) and Sebastian Terrones (MEX). In addition we had some fabulous speakers and performers during our public programme including Ana Gabriela Garcia Terremoto Magazine (MEX), Alyssa Nitchun Creative Time, Curator, Writer (USA), Benjamin Lee Ritchie Handler, Artist (USA) and S. Beckett Gookin (USA).
The 2019 edition was curated by artist Sally Montes and London-based Guest Curator Sasha Galitzine.
Addressing our own need for some calm and energetic restoration as a cultural practicioners, we decided this year to create a safe space for open and honest conversations about our work and future trajectories. It was a pause for reflection on accomplishments, an opportunity to share doubts and anxieties, and a space to find strength and support in one another.
We extended invitations to a remarkable group of Mexican and International female curators, managers and artists. Together, we experienced meaningful moments and gained insights into each other's work. The profound mutual support and solidarity were both overwhelming and gratifying. A heartfelt thanks to the participants!
This program explores the notion of flying rivers, both in their environmental impact and their power as a cultural metaphor: a network of invisible connections that, like these natural flows, links territories and allows the ecosystem to flourish. These flying rivers cross borders unseen, weaving a web that connects ecosystems and communities beyond any geographical boundary. Inspired by this phenomenon in the Amazon, where moisture from the forest becomes aerial currents that transport nutrients and water to other regions, the Flying Rivers program offers a series of art exhibitions, educational workshops and community activities that explore the intersection between art and ecology. These activities promote awareness of natural resource conservation, sustainability and an inclusive dialogue that invites all participants and visitors to reflect on these issues.
The AKI AORA 2024-2025 artist residency in Xochimilco is conceived as a space where art flows like flying rivers: unfolding invisible networks of exchange and mutual support. From March 2024 to February 2025, AKI AORA will invite artists in residence to immerse themselves in the concept of flying rivers as a bridge connecting the historical and the contemporary, the south and the north, the individual and the collective. Through this residency, artists will collaborate with local communities to explore how art can serve as a tool for visibility and change, in a series of exhibition stations located within the canals and chinampas of Xochimilco, generating an experience in motion.
This multidisciplinary approach integrates artists, curators, academics, scientists and community leaders, who will address contemporary challenges and build visions of a shared future. The resulting works will be presented in February 2025 in a series of art exhibitions that will reflect learning and exchange, materializing the results of artistic research. Here, artists will collaborate with the community to make the invisible visible, through actions and dialogues that invite to imagine global utopias inspired by local resilience.
.avif)
.avif)
.avif)
