By Iminza Keboge
Published June 24, 2018
From threats of ‘totally destroy North Korea’ to trade wars with China and from unprecedented levels of illegal migration into Europe, attempted assassination of politicians in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe and terror attack around the world, you wonder whether there can ever be any lasting solution to these problems that are making the world a dangerous place to live in. But did you know that understanding art could not only open your mind but also free the world from catastrophe?
Santiago Ribeiro, a surrealist artist from Portugal whose multimedia art show is currently featuring at the Thomson Reuters and Nasdaq OMX Group at Times Square in The Big Apple in United States of America not only believes this but has, since 2010, been co-organising an exhibition to prove it.
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For instance, 108 surrealist artists from 48 countries and five continents are set to participate in International Surrealism Now exhibition that is touted as being the world’s largest surrealist art exhibition of the 21st century.
The event, that shall be held in Coimbra in Portugal November 17, 2018, was started in 2010 by Bissaya Barreto Foundation and Santiago Ribeiro on the premise that art has the power to confront world issues head on and creates opportunities for dialogue that could lead to a better world.
Ribeiro says contemporary surrealism art, which he says is defined by the freedom and imagination it accords the practitioner, offers fresh perspectives and solutions to the trauma in the world of the 21st century.
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The re-imagined fiction behind the dreams of the beautiful presents lyrical meaning of surrealism, bringing about the hope of a new life where the colours interact with the ‘blue thinking’, while opposing the ‘dark thinking’, Ribeiro says.
Images of flying in a dream in the surrealist movement implies freedom and possibilities through fantasy.Here, humans fly through buildings, mountains, valleys, and water masses, Ribeiro explains.
The countries that will be represented in the International Surrealism Now exhibition 2018 include in Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cuba, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Ukraine, Venezuela and Vietnam.
