Students looking for a cultural experience this September won’t have to look far.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Alvin Sherman Library will host a “Masters and New Generation from Venezuela and Argentina” exhibit in the Cotilla Gallery. The pieces and artists for the exhibit were selected by Adriana Bianco, Argentinian actress and journalist. Bianco also worked with the library to bring Cine Argentino, an annual film festival, to NSU.
Kimberli Kidd, adult services librarian in the public library services department of the Alvin Sherman Library, said that the film festival was first brought to NSU in 2008 when Bianco approached library representatives about the project. The festival will be a month long and feature a film every Sunday during September. Each screening is free and open to the public.
Kidd said that the festival has been successful since it started at NSU, and there is a growing interest from the community.
“We were at the Knight Auditorium, but because it has grown, we are moving the showings to the Performance Theater,” said Kidd.
Bianco, who hand-selected the films and will be providing commentary before each film, said she wanted to choose films that would complement the exhibit. She said that she chose Venezuela as the focus of this year’s festival and exhibit based on requests of those who have attended before and because South Florida has a large Venezuelan population.
The festival will begin on Sept. 4 at 2 p.m. with the showing of “Manuela Sáenz.” The film is based on the historical figure Manuela Sáenz, a revolutionary and mistress of Simón Bolivar. The film will include subtitles in English, although not all films in the festival will.
Bianco selected many of the artists for the Cotilla exhibit. She said she wanted to contrast the style of traditional Venezuelan artists with the new style of modern artists. One “new generation” artist she chose to feature is Marta Estrems, known for her abstract work. To vary different forms of art in the exhibit, Bianco also chose to display work from Nicolas Felizola, a prominent figure in the fashion and photography industry.
The other half of the exhibit will feature work from Venezuelan art “masters,” such as the late Oswaldo Vigas, whose paintings and sculptures aim to intertwine Venezuelan pre-Columbian and African cultural roots with European and American modernism. His work is typically associated with geometric shapes and earthy color schemes.
Kidd and Bianco both hope that attendees of the gallery and festival will enjoy the events and encourage NSU students to attend. Bianco said one of her main goals for the exhibit and festivals is to integrate the cultures of the English- and Spanish-speaking populations in the area.
Infographic: Cine Argentino Films
