SILUROÑO AT CONCéNTRICO FESTIVAL LOGROÑO
20.04.2023
We’re back in Spain together with Collectif Dallas for the Concéntrico Festival 2023, invited by WBA ! We’re up to build a … fish! Check this out …
„Siluroño“ is not about the fish or fishing. It’s about stories that shape the mental map of citizens about public space or certain areas of a city.
These stories are often nothing more than prejudices, urban myths that someone heard of someone, rarely based on facts. However, they are a strong determinator of how people think about their environment, usually with a negative connotation, in the form of stigmata. About places that are unsafe, places that are expensive, places that are dirty, places that are inaccessible, places that are „owned“ by certain communities, places that are boring or places that are overcrowded or „only for the tourists“. As vague and imprecise they are, as important is their impact on the habits of people and subsequently the use and appropriation of public space and even urban developments in general, often with social and financial consequences.
Water is an exemplary case, often deemed polluted and unsafe. During our stay in Logroño and our research along the river Ebro, the ‚siluro‘ (catfish) played an important role in the image that people have of the river. Mostly depicted as a monster that eats everything (but that nobody has ever seen as such, only on social media), it became for us the symbol of our project that wants to question the role of the Ebro for the citizens of Logroño and the image they have of their river.
Our intervention for the 2023 edition of Concéntrico will be a tribute to the Siluro, the animal and the symbol, and its habitat, the Ebro river. During the festival, installations are swift and stay only for a few days. As such, our objective is to make the most of these few days with a thorough activation of the Siluro pavilion.
The activations have the mythical fish as a centerpoint: catching and cooking Siluro; screening film(s) related to the fish, the river, the water; tribute rituals to the fish; multidisciplinary talks on the subject of the river and its relation to the city; fishermen and fisherwomen telling their stories; expeditions to search for the imaginary giant red Siluro; and maybe even a swim with the Siluros.
24.04.2023
SILUROÑO is two in one: it’s a pavilion that hosts a program during the Festival in Logroño. It’s made entirely from reused material of last year’s installation Half Void // Full Moon by Piovene Fabi. A team of members of POOL IS COOL and COLLECTIF DALLAS came to Spain to build the pavilion and organize the program during the festival from 27/04 until 02/05. See you if you happen to be around!
24.04.2023
SILUROÑO is two in one: it’s a program of activities hosted in and around a pavilion during the Concéntrico Festival in Logroño. Situated in the park along the river Ebro, on the fringe between cultural and natural landscape, the program is about the role of the river and water for the city and its citizens. A team of members of POOL IS COOL and COLLECTIF DALLAS came to Spain to build the pavilions and organize the program with many local partners like the Universidad Popular Logroño and Ebroño during the festival from 27/04 until 02/05. We are especially happy to have Pauline Delaboulaye and Gilles Debrun with us for the Fiesta Transición on Saturday 29/04. See you if you happen to be around!
27.04.2023
Our (almost) complete team is ready for CONCÉNTRICO 09 which starts TODAY 🐠☀️🙌
See you in Logroño in the coming days?
28.04.2023
The first day with activities at SILUROÑO: we started with a quick swim in the Ebro with Catalystas Collective, followed by free Belgian fries for everyone since today it’s Fryday, followed by an evening dedicated to the river, its past (including swimming!) and future in Logroño, organized by Ebroño 🙌
Full house in the park!
29.04.2023
Day two of the program at SILUROÑO: we had a paper-water-bomb-battle that needed preparation by folding the water bombs and getting water from the river. The challenge: who got more wet, Salomon of Collectif Dallas or Paul of POOL IS COOL? We then prepared the Siluro for the “Fiesta Transicion” to discuss the relation of sustainability and design festivals, followed by … FRIES for everyone :) We are super happy about the wild mix of people who join our activities. Muchas gracias!
30.04.2023
No better way to start the day than a little swim in the river 😊
30.04.2023
The third day of program at Siluroño: it all started with an artistic noon organized by Universidad Popular Logroño : our Siluro on paper, and a whole swarm of Siluros made of cardboard, beautifully painted by all the participants. This was followed by an exhibition of photographs of the Siluros in their natural habitat 🙃
We then left the park for the final event of our new but dear friends Hypereden and their project “Cantiere Aperto” for which they crushed building debris of local construction sites with the skaters of esposkate to subsequently make curbs and ledges for them to practice their tricks. A great evening again!
01.05.2023
Day 4 at Siluroño: We gathered with a little group of curious people at the Siluro for an excursion along the river. Would we find a real Siluro (catfish)? Well, unfortunately we didn’t (even though we saw plenty of other fishes and animals), but we had a tasty picnic at the river as compensation. We further followed the more urbanized banks of the Ebro until we found another scenic place for a swim and for lessons in stone skipping. A reggae party during sunset, celebrating 1st of May with Working Bass (pun intended) Soundsystem was the best possible way to call it a day.
02.05.2023
Day 5 with Siluroño, the last day 🥲: it was celebrated with an impressive dance improvisation in the wilderness along the river, followed by the very last swim in the Ebro, followed by the very last fries fried which finally lured a Siluro on the shore, longing for a little treat. Thank you Elisa 😜!
Thank you Concéntrico Festival, Javier Peña Ibáñez and WBA for inviting us to Logroño! We had a great time, it was a pleasure to meet so many interesting, excited and dedicated people. We hope we can leave some lasting impressions. What we can say to you: go see this city and this festival! And swim in this river, no reason to be afraid of siluros!
Now we’re curious about the future of our little big Siluro. Adios, Concéntrico!