Palais de Glace
Buenos Aires, Argentina
8 – 17 July 2011
A first visit for the show to South America and produced in a very interesting collaboration with rice producer Gallo and Argentinian food bank Fundacion Banco de Alimentos. This meant that the 2 tonnes of rice used in the show was donated to the charity after we left and further donations were made each time someone ‘liked’ the show’s Facebook page. At the current count this amounts to over 3000 plates of rice. The Facebook page also provided a lively forum for visitors to contribute thoughts, ideas, images and videos. The show was housed in the Palais de Glace, a beautiful circular building with a domed roof that began its life as an ice rink but is now an art gallery. Having Gallo as coproducers and sponsors meant that a big publicity machine was working for the show which meant that the get in was watched more than it ever has been and the press launch was attended by numerous writers, critics and TV crews. The opening night was full of Argentinian celebrities (we didn’t recognise them though) and led to a photoshoot of glamorous models putting the finishing touches to a large pile of rice for the cameras after Jake and Jack had done the donkey work with little media attention.
Our two week stay gave us time for some sightseeing including a visit to the grave of Eva Peron in the amazing Recoleta Cemetery. Our visit also coincided with the Copa America football championships so several evenings were spent watching games in bars and we were lucky enough to make it to the Uruguay – Mexico match at La Plata stadium. Chris and Jake bravely attended a tango lesson while Charlotte, Jack and Craig bravely watched them. James’ stay was slightly longer than he intended as his flight home was cancelled due to volcanic ash and Charlotte’s stay was slightly shorter than intended as her flight out was delayed for similar reasons. She is now very familiar with Madrid airport.
The nature of the collaboration that made this show happen provided a perfect context for us and hopefully helped to hightlight the excellent work of the food bank, which last year distributed 500,000 tons of food. More images and video of the show can also be seen on cukmi.com including a gigapan and a slightly scary video portrait of James.
Credits
Performers: Chris Dugrenier, Jake Oldershaw, Craig Stephens, Jack Trow, James Yarker
with Matias Bouquet, Agustina Peres
Producer in Buenos Aires: Sofia Nougues
Concept: James Yarker
General Manager: Charlotte Martin
Advisory Producer: Nick Sweeting