Commission Series x
Saskia Calderón
Residency & Performance
10 May - 10 July 2023
Chios Island, Greece
DEO Projects is pleased to present the Commission Series 2023 programme, a production-based artist residency programme which aims to cultivate a dialogue between the local landscape and historical background of the island of Chios and the current contemporary art scene.
With the support of EACHEVE and Eliana Hidalgo Vilaseca, DEO projects presents the third cycle of the Commission Series, hosting a two months residency and live performance by Saskia Calderón, a performance artist and lyrical singer from Quito, Ecuador.
Saskia Calderón has been selected through an open-call process, and her live-performance in Chios will mark the first presentation of the artist in Greece. Her residency commences in early May 2023 and after a two-months research and practice on the island, it will culminate in the presentation of a new live-performance at the Chios Castle on July 8th and a video performance available online after July 15th.
Commission Series is a hyper-local, globally linked programme that supports an international artist to develop, produce, and exhibit a new body of work in Chios, marking the first presentation of the artist in Greece.
On an annual basis, Commission series is supported by a dedicated patron who actively participates in all the project stages, enabling diverse practices in the arts ecology to connect and achieve ambitious goals together. Local museums, non-institutional spaces, or the public realm will become a showcase for the commissioned works allowing audiences to explore polyphonic artistic voices across the globe. Commission Series started in 2021 and supported artists include: Paulo Nimer Pjota (Brazil), and Dominique White (UK).
Live performance: | July 8th, Chios Castle
The Video performance will be available on Deo projects’ website and EACHEVE from the 15th of July.
Commission Series 2023 is fully supported by EACHEVE
DEO projects and its creative programme is fully supported by the DEO Patrons Scheme
Saskia Calderón (EC)
Saskia Calderón studied painting at the School of Plastic Arts in Quito, Ecuador, in 1997; she holds a degree in Plastic Arts with a mention in engraving and painting from the Central University of Ecuador in 2003, and Technician in Lyrical Singing at the National Conservatory of Music in Ecuador.
Her awards include first place in the 12th International Biennial of Cuenca in 2014 and honorable mention in the 1st Biennial of Sculpture in Imbabura, Ecuador, in 2006. Her live performances have been featured in exhibitions in Ecuador, the United States, Spain, Mexico, and Malta. She has participated in over 60 contemporary art shows worldwide with her video performances and sound pieces.
Eliana Hidalgo Vilaseca
Art Historian with a master’s in Art Business from Sotheby's Institute of Art in New York. Director and founder of EACHEVE.
Eliana worked as an assistant in the Department of Latin American Art at Sotheby's New York. After completing her MA, she obtained the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Fellowship. Having returned to Ecuador, Eliana briefly served as the coordinator of the Museo Municipal de Guayaquil and eventually went on to co-found and co-direct the NoMíNIMO contemporary art gallery, a project focused on the formation of audiences and collectors in Ecuador between 2010 and 2013. In 2014, she created EACHEVE, which has worked in the field of editorial production, collection consultancy, and exhibition and production management of contemporary art in Ecuador.
Simultaneously and motivated to pursue and stimulate the growth and development of Ecuador’s cultural scene, EACHEVE has produced and supported several exhibition projects, such as 'Algo después' by Ilich Castillo (Bogotá, 2016), 'Objetos de duda y de certeza' by Manuela Ribadeneira (Quito, 2019), 'Wonder Boy Complex' by Xavier Coronel (Quito, 2021), and 'Holding the urge to reconcile' by Sofía Salazar Rosales (Guayaquil, 2022).
In 2021, EACHEVE becomes a non-profit organization and adds to its list of tasks the signing of partnerships with Delfina Foundation (London), Gasworks (London), Tropical Papers (France) and DEO Projects (Greece) with the purpose of promoting Ecuadorian art internationally and nurturing its primary mission: to ultimately create new opportunities for Ecuadorian artists.