Screening / What The Anxious Heart Desires by Rafael Zen + Khalil Alomar

You – children of mass media, answer this riddle: What does Western knowledge produce? <<< Individuals. Individuals. Individuals. >>> Standardized, linked to one another by hierarchical systems, value systems, systems of submission — not visible, hidden, a vast repertoire for reproduction. And what about us? We? We all live in an almost constant state of crisis, in fact an economic crisis, not just of material economics but also of the economy of dreams. Another riddle: what does the anxious heart desire? /// What The Anxious Heart Desires, Episode 1

: :

On Wednesday, March 29th at 7pm, join Massy Arts Society, and Vancouver-based visual artists Rafael Zen + Khalil Alomar for the screening premiere of What The Anxious Heart Desires, a four-episode series (16min total) that aims to research video-art + sound-art performances as political and educational instruments for disseminating decolonial theories anti class-gender-race oppression through literature and spoken poetry.

The four short-films were produced based on the theories of South-American philosophers, and political activists. Brazilian intellectuals chosen for this project are: Suely Rolnik (artist, curator and anti-capitalist theorist), Airton Krenak (Indigenous leader and anti-colonial activist), Maria Lacerda de Moura (activist teacher and journalist), and Lélia Gonzalez (activist and anti-racism theorist).

At the event, Zen + Alomar will address their new works in video collage, filmmaking, and spoken poetry, presenting this new video series to the audience. Video artists and videomakers from the community are also invited to submit videos for this screening event, to be presented in the opening act of this event.

This event + project was made possible by the support of the BC Arts Council (BCAC) through the Individual Arts Awards.

Registration is free, open to all, and required for entrance. Donations are welcome.

: :

Send Your Video!

Short-films and video pieces by/for over-excluded voices are welcome at this event!

Attendees interested in having their film screening at the opening act should send the following information to community@massyarts.com, under the subject title: Video Submission 2023.

Information:

– An open link to your video

– A synopsis or concept text (maximum 100 words)

– Artist bio of each presenting artist

– Films shouldn’t be longer than 3 minutes

– We welcome all experimentations in film, video art, animation, and video collage

– Priority will be given to productions that address anti-colonial + anti-capitalist content

– Up to 6 works will be chosen for this event

– Because of staff restrictions, only chosen submissions will receive feedback via email

: :

Venue & Accessibility

The event will be hosted at the Massy Arts Gallery, at 23 East Pender Street in Chinatown, Vancouver.

Registration is free, open to all and required for entrance. The gallery is wheelchair accessible and a gender-neutral washroom is on-site. Please refrain from wearing scents or heavy perfumes.

For more on accessibility including parking, seating, venue measurements and floor plan, and how to request ASL interpretation please visit: massyarts.com/accessibility

Covid Protocols: Masks keep our community safe and are mandatory (N95 masks are recommended as they offer the best protection). We ask if you are showing symptoms, that you stay home. Thank you kindly.

: :

The Artists

RAFAEL ZEN is a queer South-American filmmaker, visual artist, and writer currently living + studying New Media + Sound Arts on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Zen holds a Master’s degree in Contemporary Artistic Practices researching anti-capitalist artistic practices, and also a graduate degree in Contemporary Literature researching queer latinx poetics. With over 10 years of experience in art education, Rafael Zen has been currently teaching courses about decolonial studies and activist collage at Lote84 (Brazil), where he organizes the commissioned projects: Culture and Confrontation, and Ideas to Make the World Bearable. In Vancouver, Rafael works for the Massy Arts Gallery as curator and arts coordinator.

KHALIL ALOMAR is a queer Lebanese-Canadian visual artist with background in Education. Currently living on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl ̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, Alomar has focused his latest work on installations that suggest a critique on contemporary religious practices, and collages that touch discussions on gender, race, and class. As an artist in residency for Lote84 since 2020, Khalil Alomar is a collage artist and sound artist for the projects Ideas to Make the World Bearable, and Everything is Collage.

: :