Bridging Cultures

The screening program presents artists' perspectives on exploring and discovering new horizons. It features moving image narratives that connect different cultures and contrasting viewpoints, aiming to find common ground, build relations, and foster connections across various cultural landscapes. In a world often divided by polarized views, we believe art can play a crucial role in bridging cultures and perspectives, prompting small shifts in power dynamics that enhance viewer awareness. In light of current political crises, as well as environmental and decolonial agendas, artists are working to bridge not just cultures but also different ways of being, discovering innovative approaches to visual storytelling. Among the featured works is the video poem "A Palm, a Fountain, an Umbrella" (2024) by Sharon Cheuk Wun Lee, which explores the circulating and shifting signs layered in fractures of socio-political shifts, bilingual cultural identity, and coastal periphery. "Ebony Dreams" (2019) by Eri Saito is an experiment that explores how our bodies move unconsciously, like sleepwalking, perceived by others as inexplicable movements. The intriguing and surreal "Ringo" (2020) by Amie Barouh evokes childhood memories and our inner child within today’s context. Popo Fan’s refreshingly sarcastic video "Lerne Deutsch in Meiner Küche" (2020) immerses viewers in a DIY cooking and language lesson that takes an absurd turn. Axl presents his latest work "Joseph's Midnight Party" (2024) for the first time. In "The Story of Nanka Gulu and Iron Hawk" (2021) by Chen Zhou, audiences encounter ancient wisdom from an escaped intelligent drone. Almagul Menlibayeva’s "Mother Water Gulbib Balkhash" (2024) literally shakes up our understanding of geography, guiding us to new worlds. The program concludes with "Curse of Staged Atavism" 2024) by Shuree Sarantuya, a work that won a CIFRA award at Art Night Venezia this summer. The program was selected by CIFRA Chief Curator Olga Shishko, Director of Culture and Exhibitions at Casa Asia Menene Gras, and CIFRA Art Director Anastasia Stravinsky.