International artist duo assume vivid astro focus (AVAF) created an incredible site-specific, retro roller disco at Buenos Aires’s Faena Arts Center (FAC) last weekend as part of the 10-year anniversary celebrations for the Faena Hotel Buenos Aires.
Since the Faena Hotel opened a decade ago inside the reconstructed “El Porteño,” a 1902 silo, the once-abandoned Puerto Madero waterfront neighborhood, now known as the Faena District, has experienced a cultural renaissance. Nothing marked that change more than the opening of the FAC three years ago.
To mark the milestone, the FAC’s Los Molinos room was transformed into an indoor neo-disco roller rink decked out in brightly colored illustrations. French drag artists and celebrity DJ Lady Bunny headlined a group of national and international DJs spinning an eclectic selection of tunes. The epic roller disco and dance party that followed was free and open to the public, with members of the local skating community enjoying themselves alongside professional roller-dancers.
“Art institutions in the 21st century should be catalysts—to act as bridges between the local and the global,” explained FAC director and chief curator Ximena Caminos in a press release. “We created this installation to celebrate the interactions and create connectivity between individuals and art practices. To celebrate community, to open our doors to play, to dance, and to break down the barriers between culture and society.”
“We have redefined the way we live in cities by building a strong community anchored in the fusion of art, recreation, nature, sustainable architecture and technology,” added Faena founder Alan Faena. “After 10 years, our relationship with the community is as lively as ever.”
Celebrations in the Faena District also included a retrospective photography exhibition of the neighborhood’s history over the last decade, hosted at the hotel’s cathedral hall.