This document is the postcard produced to publicize the call for submissions organized by the Helena Producciones collective for the seventh edition of the Festival de Performance of Cali. It was released to the public on May 23, 2008 at an event held at the Alameda outdoor market in Cali. Three constructions similar to market stalls were built in the market. From them, the members of Helena Producciones displayed printed material about the history of the festival. At the launching, which included screenings of a series of videos, the postcard announcing the call for submissions was distributed. Artists Andrés Sandoval and Ana María Millán—who were in charge of the collective’s image—designed the postcard, which they signed Ana y Andrés. One side of the postcard contains information about the call for submissions such as the dates when projects could be received, the documentation required, and a concise account of Helena Producciones and the collective’s aims for the seventh edition of the festival. Printed on the backside of the postcard is an article entitled “La marcha de ladrones se volvió un día sin robo” [The March of Thieves Meant a Day with no Stealing] first published in El País newspaper and, at the bottom to the left, the sentence Helena 10 años cumpliendo (1998-2008) [Helena Turning 10 (1998-2008)] . The call for submissions was geared to visual artists, actors, dancers, musicians, interdisciplinary collectives and those working on community projects, activists, and other cultural agents interested in contemporary art, performance, actions, happenings, public art, interventions, situations, insertions, and related media.

In 1998, the Helena Producciones collective was formed to further the I Festival Municipal de Performance y Acción Plástica (1997) organized by Colombian artists Wilson Díaz (b. 1963) and Juan Mejía (b. 1966). Helena Producciones was geared to creating a platform from which to exhibit the performance genre in Colombia and to generate spaces for exchange outside the academy. To that end, the collective decided to organize the II Feria de Performance(1998), a less elitistand more experimental event that eschewed the schemes of traditional exhibitions. Though even into the present (2009) the Festival de Performance of Cali is what the Helena Producciones collective is most known for, it is only one of the group’s curatorial, community, and social projects. 

The phrase Helena 10 años cumpliendo (1998-2008) appears in Helvetica print on the lower right-hand corner of this postcard, suggesting the role Helena Producciones has played in communicating and advocating contemporary art on the Colombian art scene. It also—ironically—attests to the organization’s commitment to the artistic field. The inclusion in the postcard of an article that had appeared in El País newspaper about a march of thieves that took place in Cali in 2008—the culmination of a peaceful day in the city with no muggings—evidences Helena Producciones’ concern with a specific issue facing the city of Cali and with practices that take place in social contexts. Indeed, those practices can be seen as performative actions that ensue outside the sphere of art. Similarly, the postcard’s call for submissions is geared to anyone interested and, as such, it represents an attempt to open up a range of spaces relevant to performance. Thus, performance is understood not merely as an artistic practice but also as a phenomenon that engages an array of factors and players such as alternative musicians, community groups, and others. 

The call for submissions was open through August 22, 2008. Projects by the following artists and groups were selected for participation: Adrián Gaitán, Alonso José Zuluaga, Ana Lucía Quijano y Ana María Bernal, Bettina Semmer, Caín Press, Carlos Maria and Gabriel Loebell, Carlos Monroy, Colectivo Kalikadaver, Colectivo use el timbre, Dadanoys, Edinson Quiñonez, El Bodegón, Elkin Calderón, Grupo Comtempus, Jorge Acero, Las Malas Amistades, Luis Fernando Ramírez, Maria Alejandra Estrada, Omar Puebla, Royal Waffles, Tropical Effect, and Yuri Firmezza.

The following guests participated in the festival: Michèle Faguet, Phill Collins, Jennifer Mojica, Helmut Batista, Anton Vidokle, Hila Peleg, Wilbert Carmona, Juan Javier Salazar, Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Fundecima, Rolf Abderhalden, La Central, Dick el Demasiado, Silverio, Carlos Amorales, and Nuevos Ricos Big Band.

The seventh edition of the festival, which was made possible thanks to a grant from the Prince Claus Fund, was organized with the support of the 41st Salòn Nacional de Artistas, the government of the department of Valle del Cauca, the mayor’s office of Santiago de Cali, TriangleArtsTrust, and many others