Countries

Faísca was created in June 2015 in Belo Horizonte, capital of the state of Minas Gerais. For the International Riso Festival, in addition to receiving some of the main Brazilian studios and publishers specialized in Riso printing, which are from various parts of the country, the program includes graphic artists, designers, writers and researchers, for activities such as workshops, lectures, debates , videozines, interviews and for the video and printed publications of Faísca Lab, as well as in the festival’s online store.

Through the partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Faísca had in its program some of the worldwide references of Riso printing, as well as participants from other fields, such as cinema.

Guests:

• Astrid Florentinus, Jan Dirk de Wilde and Joyce Guley, from Knust (Nijmegen), pioneer group in the use of Riso for creative purposes and masters in stencil printing;
• Jo Frenken, organizer of Magical Riso and coordinator of the Printing & Publishing Lab at Jan van Eyck Academie (Maastricht);
• Ivana Smudja, who lives and works in Nijmegen, director of the documentary “Knust – the pioneers of Riso printing”;
• Ellen Kocken (Nijmegen), producer of the documentary and founder of the film agency Dziga;
• Miek Zwamborn, Dutch artist that currently lives in the Isle of Mull, in Scotland.

Activities:

• Interview with Knust;
• Interview with Jo Frenken;
• Brazilian premiere of the documentary “Knust – the pioneers of Riso printing”;
• Live broadcast from Knust headquarters, presenting the interview with Ivana Smudja and Ellen Kocken, with a virtual tour with Joyce Guley around the Extrapool building;
• Debate “Artists’ books in Riso: Brazil-Netherlands Connection;
• Collaborative process between Knust, Prumo and Faísca: Ko Zine “Fúria”, by Bruno Rios and Matheus Ferreira (Prumo), an artwork based on the visual identity that the duo created for Faísca, printed and published by Knust;
• Video-workshop on the “Fúria” process;
• Broadcast of Magical Riso with simultaneous translation into Portuguese: the main event in the world focused on Riso Art, held virtually from 1st to 4th December, organized by Jo Frenken from the Jan van Eyck Academie, was attended by masters of risography and artists from various parts of the planet, among them other Dutch participants: Miek Zwamborn, Sigrid Calon and Margriet Thissen, screen printing specialist at the Jan van Eyck Academie Printing and Publishing Lab.
• “Centum Nec Plura: the curiosity that connects us” interview, with Jo Frenken & Miek Zwamborn.

Through institutional support from Goethe-Institut, which promotes knowledge of the German language abroad and international cultural exchange, Faísca invited several guests from Germany or Germany-based:

• Die Brueder Publishing / Lucky Punch Press – Malte Brenneisen

Participation in the Studios series, with a visit to the studio and interview.

• Vetro Editions – Luca Bendandi

Participation in an interview and in the debate on publishing.

• John Z. Komourki

Participation in interview, video essay on Riso and in the Studios Series with Die Brueder Publishing.

• Nina Prader

Participation in the Studios Series with Die Brueder.

The institutional support of the French Embassy, through the Service of Cooperation and Cultural Action for the State of Minas Gerais, has made possible for Faísca to virtually receive guests for an interview in French, in addition to broadcasting, in Portuguese, the 2020 edition of Magical Riso, which had the participation of the creative studio specialized in Riso printing and publishing house Quintal Éditions, also invited to one of Faísca’s interviews, made by the Brazilian teacher, researcher and translator Maria Clara Carneiro.

Faísca premiered the Studios Series with the small press and Riso studio Ediciones El Fuerte, from Buenos Aires. Cecilia Arbolave, who is a journalist, editor and producer from Argentina and has been living in Brazil for 10 years also participates in the festival.

Faísca invited the small publisher Pupi Club, from Santiago, to the Studios Series.

Jerónimo Velásquez, from Perro Centinela and Primer Ocaso (Bogota), has made a series of three interviews with Latin American guests through Faísca, among them Eva Parra, from the specialized in Riso printing studio Calipso Press (Cali) and with Valeria Giraldo, from the printing, publishing and design studio Relámpago (Bogotá).

As part of the series of interviews made by Jerónimo Velásquez with Latin American studios and publishers, Faísca received Terminal Ediciones, from Quito.

As part of the series of interviews made by Jerónimo Velásquez with studios and publishers from Latin America, Faísca virtually received Oswaldo García, from Gold Rain (Queretaro). Faísca also broadcasted, in Portuguese, the 2020 edition of Magical Riso, with the participation of Gato Negro Ediciones, from Mexico City.

Faísca invited for an interview George Wietor (Grand Rapids, Michigan), founder of Issue Press, studio and small press specialized in Riso printing, and of the collaborative portal stencil.wiki. And for Studios Series the guest was Travis Shaffer, born in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania and an assistant professor at the University of Missouri, in Columbia. Faísca has also broadcasted, with simultaneous translation to Portuguese, Magical Riso, which had the participation of Endless Editions, from New York.