The Secret Market Exhibition was an art event that took place between March 7 and 11, representing a visual and audio performance through photography, painting, collages, installations and music. The artists are a group of 10 creative souls who have been documenting their individual world perspectives implementing diverse media.
Two of them are Romanians and they happen to be my friends as well, so we dared to interview them and get an insight of the exhibition’s outcome, as well of their own work and artistic vision. Have a look, you’re welcome to give us feedback.
Video by Andreea Magdalina, Mahira Sobral and Max Smolaks
Here are the photographers’ profiles on Flickr: Adina Capverde
Wanna visit France? You broke? No problem everyone is. Including P&O Ferries who often let embark on a single ticket to shiny Calais from Dover for a £.
A train leaves from Charing Cross to Dover every hour for just £12.50. Calais may not be the sexiest of the red, blue, and white nation, but they do have a train station in the city center that will take you to Paris for about €30. It may be bit more expensive than the Eurostar if booked early, but the journey is much more enjoyable (as long as the sea is not on a mission to make you puke) than entering a tunnel and sitting next to a business man constantly waving his Blackberry to get reception. I ensure you that just the Ferry experience will make you forget about ill England. Do it! Now!
You don’t have to be Brazilian to appreciate its hot weather, beautiful beaches and friendly people! I interviewed Samara Deen, a student from Westminster University who spent a month in Brazil during one of her summers and now it’s hard to get her to shut up about it!
Q: Why did you go visit Brazil? A: I went to Brazil two years ago with my boyfriend. I did’nt really choose to go there, my boyfriend was doing a set travel thing with Startravel and bascially I met him in New Zealand then joined in for the last bit of the trip, and the trip ended in Brazil, then we just stayed there for an extra few weeks. So we ended up staying in Brasil for about a month.
Q: What did you like most about Brazil? A: I think its the fact that it has absolutly everything! Its got sun, the sea, got beautiful cities, its got rainforests, animals, its got really friendly people, amazing food, and really beautiful music aswell! The samba clubs were amazing!
Q: Have you found any of those amazing samba clubs here in London? A: I’ve actually found a couple of places, like theres one off picadilly circus that does samba nights and Brazil nights, but I don’t think it would be the same! (laughs)
Q: People always talk about how violent Rio de Janeiro is, did you feel this during your trip? A: Yeah, well it’s really interesting, it’s not like anywhere I have ever been before because on one hand I felt really safe and happy but there was definitely a violent undertone, especially in the favelas. Like we heard lots of stories about people getting mugged and someone out our hotel had gotten shot the week before we got there. Also there had been a police raid in the favelas, and 27 people had been killed while we were in Rio. So it was a bit edgy, like we were on edge a lot of the time, but at the same time we felt really safe but in a really weird way. I kinda enjoyed that sort of sense of not being completely safe, it made me feel really alive. It even made the place seem a bit more colourful.
Q: Did you make new friends with the locals? A: We met a lot of tourists and Brazilians, and all the Brazilians were really friendly. But a lot of them didn’t speak English, so it made communication quite interesting, my acting skills got a bit better (laughs), and they don’t speak Spanish either, so it was a bit difficult. But they were all really friendly lovely people.
Brazilian music has come a long way from the slave chants and bossa nova. Check out this new Brazilian band located here in London. They mix electro beats with a Brazilian touch, just the type of music to get you dancing and never stopping!
Everybody knows about St Patrick’s day. But I wonder if you knew there were 3 other saints days? That’s right 3 more!
The U.K is made up of four countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Who all have their own saints day.
The first of the year is St David who is the patron saint of Wales. It’s celebrated on the 1st March. In Wales they hold something called an Eisteddfod (i-steth-vod) which celebrates all things Welsh. It’s such a big thing they have a national one each year. If you want to find out more than visit the London Welsh Centre.
Next on our hit list of saints is of course St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Everybody should know about this day (17th March) as it’s the most celebrated out of the U.K saints. And if you were in London at the time you’ll have seen the parade and know just how big it is. But of course there is always more to learn so visit the London Irish Centre.
Next it’s England’s turn. With St George’s day on 23rd April. Sadly no one really celebrates this day. For the last five years the mayor of London has been holding St George celebrations, but in the rest of England there seems to be a lack of appreciation for their patron saint. You may know him better by the stories of the saint who slayed the dragon. This year English Heritage are doing some events.
And lastly all the way down at the other end of the year is St Andrew’s day in Scotland, 30th November. This day has been made into a Bank Holiday in Scotland. He is also the patron saint of Greece, Russia and Romania! He was quite a busy man. Although it’s not as recognised as Burns’ Night which is a celebration of poet Robert Burns. Last year celebrations were held in London, so let’s hope they do the same again this year!
And with all saints day’s let’s disassociate them from drinking and make them symbolise a celebration of culture.
The purpose of this video vox pop was not to illustrate people’s little knowledge about Romania, but to highlight the country’s main attractions which are more or less appealing to foreigners. I am happy to realise that there is more than our football team or the name of Dracula that interests the non-Romanians.
A huge part of Brazil’s culture is its great football style and players! Brazilians are known for preforming and putting on a show when they play football! Even though in the world cup of 2006 they didn’t play
so well, I can only hope they will take these four years, get better, and win the next one in South Africa. I think it is because football has become a sport too focused on money, some players don’t seem to play with their hearts anymore like their precedents did in the 1960s and 70s. They get paid so much they start to think like celebrities instead of athletes, who play for their fans, who play because they love the sport, not because it is their job or they have to.
Fortunately Brazil has earned its 5 stars on their shirts, with their best teams getting what they deserved in 1958,1962,1970,1994, and 2002. The only time I have been in Brazil during a World Cup was in 2002, when in the final they beat Germany 2-0. I was in Sao Paolo and it was pure madness! On ‘Paulista’ a street for offices and
galleries, people were jumping on cars, dancing in the streets, I had never seen anything like it, and had never felt so proud of being part of something, everyone was so happy together! It did not matter anymore what your job was or where you lived or came from, in those last minutes of the last match of the World Cup, everyone was biting their nails, sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for overtime to finish to let out all the anxiety the exciting tournament brought with it.
Maybe having a passion for football really is part of a Brazilians DNA, along with knowing how to samba and adding ‘inho’ to the end of every word. But I love the atmosphere at football matches, watching everyone so passionately looking at their favourite 11 men running around after a ball, and feeling such ecstasy when their team wins, it’s great! I went to a match in Munich for the last World Cup, to see Brazil vs. Australia, even though the match was not a very good one and fat Ronaldo did get sent off, 80% of the fun was actually being in city. It had become football central, everywhere you looked you saw people dressed up and painted in their pride and flag colours, singing their national anthems and partying in the streets! Even though I have been to Munich now, I can’t say I know the city. In a time like that, you don’t go to find the nearest museum or go see the sites, instead it was watching one match after the other at the pubs watching the Germans chug down their huge pints of beer and eating massive sausages, and I loved it!
In 5 years Brazil will have the honor of hosting the 2014 World Cup. I can only imagine with the positive energy, music, dance and drinks that this beautiful country already provides, it will be a world cup to remember! Now we just have to get through this one,hopefully change it from 5 stars to 6!
Here is a short video that they used in the 2006 World Cup to advertise Nike:
Wanna visit France? You broke? No problem everyone is. Including P&O Ferries who often let embark on a single ticket to shiny Calais from Dover for a £.
