In 2015, he went through a personal crisis as a result of the tension he found between the development of personal identity and the way in which people belong and are integrated into the community, especially in the academy. From that situation, he began to connect with art, leading him to practice aerial fabrics, a sports and artistic discipline that is rarely performed by surgeons. This contributed significantly to his personal growth and thanks to this, he understood the importance of the existence of spaces that promote creativity to work on his internal and external balance, thus facilitating the connection with others. This is essential to promote healthy ways of living in society.
His adolescence and early adulthood were marked by the long process of coming out of the closet in an academic environment that was still not very inclusive. The lack of homosexual references who lived prosperous lives made him feel that he would never be happy. It is from there that he understands the importance of art in his history and the desire that other members of the LGBTIQA+ community can obtain the benefits of art in its various expressions, since for him it became a fundamental engine for his personal development.
After experiencing the power and potential of art, Boris, as an entrepreneur, wanted to explore how he could use his economic resources optimally to promote art as a way to positively impact the well-being and human flourishing of the LGBTIQA+ community. His intention is to create a foundation that focuses on how art can serve sexual and gender dissent to catalyze the tension that exists between being a member of sexogeneric dissent and belonging to a society that has much to advance in inclusion.
First Main Ball in Chile by Iconic House of Ninja
At Fundación Antenna, we are interested in knowing more about our partner's personal history and new projects. We spoke with him in the privacy of his home, which is surrounded by artists' works queer. And this is what he told us:
Considering your conception of the arts as a whole, how do you see the connection between all artistic areas?
Boris: The idea is related to the idea of the Renaissance person. Art involves connecting different areas of the brain, creating the new and novel, allowing situations to be evaluated and given meaning from such diverse perspectives as to expand the possibility of understanding the challenges faced by society. This makes it possible not only to catalyze the emotional world of individuals, but also to propose creative, innovative and context-relevant solutions based on reason. Something similar to what neuroscience calls synesthesia where the senses intersect, such as seeing sounds (isn't this reading?). By combining different forms of art, more areas of the brain are activated, empowering the resulting art. An example is the Cirque du Soleil, which integrates makeup, costume design, music, acting, acrobatics, scenography and inspiring narratives, creating a show that is capable of attracting a wide audience, activating the brain to its full potential and thus maximizing the benefits of exhibiting or exposing oneself to art. Other examples are the Drag and ballroom culture, where performance, makeup, costumes, dance, posture and acting are combined. I believe that art should embrace you and be inclusive, and when it converges, it generates new artistic forms and wonderful experiences that fill the senses and nourish you deeply.
On this path of setting up your foundation, you came to Antenna. What was the process of working with us on this project?
Boris: I wanted to create an art or artivism foundation queer to fill the gap that exists between foundations of sexogeneric dissent and art, since although there are multiple initiatives for activism and art, there are very few that work on the relationship between the two. In addition, the LGBTIQA+ community, as a beneficiary, is the least supported by the third sector. Although I had experience and contacts in circus and performing arts, I was unaware of the visual arts, but they seemed fundamental to my purpose. I approached Antenna to learn about this area and became a member.
I had a certain budget for this support and initially, my idea was to grant 10% to each of ten artistic disciplines that seemed relevant to gender differences: dance, circus, pop culture, visual arts, literary arts, drag, ballroom, makeup, costume design and music. When studying more about foundation management and social investment, it was unsustainable to allocate the entire budget to the simultaneous development of the 10 disciplines. This is how I adjusted my initial approach to visual arts and culture. Kiki or Ballroom, which I admire because of its origin, its commitment to artistic convergence and its capacity to create protective communities through expression, belonging and identity.
In addition, culture Kiki Chile has experienced tremendous development in recent years. As I understand it, this is a ballroom subculture that stands out for its accessibility and focus on development at younger ages, while Ballroom culture focuses on competition and a more formal and hierarchical structure. People who belong to this community have often been marginalized and therefore their art has become precarious, not because of their artistic quality but because of the opportunities that society gives them. In addition, many of its members are trans people, one of the communities that have the greatest social challenges in terms of inclusion, opportunities and health. I decided to start with this community because of the admiration I have for it, because of how inspiring it is, and because of the ability it has demonstrated to effectively face social challenges through art.
With the Antenna project area, and from my proximity as a partner, we did research on art queer in Chile. This helped us to have a more comprehensive view of what art is. queer and to identify references that would allow us to guide the approach. The collaboration with Antenna not only enriched my foundation in the field of visual arts, but also expanded its scope to be interdisciplinary and incorporate the concept of artistic convergence. Thus, they helped me with the challenge of creating a foundation from scratch, allowing initiatives to be carried out more quickly through collaboration with a foundation that already has a solid position in the art ecosystem
Who do you hope to support with this project?
Boris: Although I am clear that the beneficiaries will be from the LGBTIQA+ community with artistic performance in art forms queer, It's not yet exactly clear how we're going to approach it. However, I am inspired by what galleries do with curatorship: identifying new talent and I will most likely focus on the young population, between 18 and 25 years old, to give them a “push” in their artistic development at that initial moment. The idea is to support talents so that they can progress in their technical quality, position themselves in the art ecosystem, and thus promote the artistic convergence of disciplines for them and between them.
What can you tell us about the project?
Boris: On the financial side, for now we have funds in deposits while we prepare the creation of the image and refine the definitions of the reason for being, that is, the mission, vision, values, social problem and purpose. It is essential to be able to draw up a sustainability plan early so as not to spend the entire budget in the first year. It will be called “Fundación Mecenas for the Development and Promotion of Queer Art” and its purpose will be to promote the convergence, talent development and positioning of queer art for the inclusion, identity and well-being of the LGBTIQA+ community. We are currently working with a team of four people: Pascal Melnick, a long-time friend, a contemporary dancer who has a very rich and critical perspective on art and dance; May Rabí, my commercial engineering fabric teacher, who helps with the financial and management aspects; and Juan José Guzmán, an anthropologist with a master's degree in Human Rights who is also a professor of aerial acrobatics. He is addressing the sociological and anthropological dimension of the foundation so that it bases its work seriously on the needs of dissident communities.
The idea is that the foundation includes all the lyrics of LGBTIQA+, diverse art forms and, above all, that it does not limit itself to benefiting an elite. Although we are fully aware that the initial team comes from a fairly privileged social segment, we want to create the governance and decision-making structure with the greatest possible participation and collaboration with art communities queer. To incorporate the diversity and representation of voices, especially trans people and communities where art development is precarious. Finally, our goal is to constitute a foundation at the service of the well-being and flourishing of the LGBTIQA+ community, but always from a perspective of rights, inclusion and looking at the social challenges of the beneficiaries, promoting art as an effective tool to face these challenges.
From everything you've told us, what's the role of art here? How do you think we can improve the situations we face today as a community through art?
Boris: Art and the LGBTIQA+ community are closely linked. Many people in this community are dedicated to art, resulting in a higher proportion of LGBTIQA+ people compared to the general population. Art is a powerful tool of expression, resistance and belonging, which promotes people's well-being and enriches communities.
My foundation seeks to promote the well-being of the LGBTIQA+ community through art, allowing people to express their identity, promote their belonging and resist the imposition of hegemonic forms of behavior, socialization and artistic expression. The concept of Queer artivism aligns with Latin America's historic resistance to European hegemony. We want the Latin American queer artivism (cuir artivism), with Chile at the forefront, be powerful and connect people, creating networks and obtaining donors.
Our goal is to become a funder and enhancer of the dissident art ecosystem, funding LGBTIQA+ individuals and communities through projects that protect their autonomy and the spirit of art queer. Often current competitive funds do not focus on these communities or are left out because their bases have not been designed considering their specific characteristics or needs.
How has this new phase of yours been connecting with art and how do you think it would be interesting to form an art collection? queer?
Boris: I was very involved with the Isabel Croxatto gallery, I came to it through Antenna, in fact, and she invites me to every event there is, she supports artists a lot queer and is very committed to the concept of queer art. With it I have been making my collection, I have works by Argentinian Chiachio & Giannone, I have an embroidery that is a Drag Queen by Paloma Castillo, I have this painting behind me by José Pedro Godoy who manages a super homoerotic art line, some nude embroideries by Argentinian artist Marino Balbuena, and a “Verónica” by Nía de Indias. I started collecting more studiously a year ago, the first work I bought was a sculpture by Felipe Loyola, and then I bought several things from Pollo Lavín because I was in a super emerging phase and I loved what I was doing. In general, I have tried to privilege the theme. queer or to artists from the community. From now on, I would love to focus on buying works by emerging artists rather than established artists because it fulfills the dual function of collecting art and promoting the development of those artists.
If someone from the Antenna community wants to support you, what would be the call you would make to them or what would be the next step?
Boris: We just created the Instagram @fundacionmecenas. Although there is still not much there beyond the purpose and the descent, we are going to strengthen it and it will be our main communication partner. So for now, we invite you to follow us and to keep an eye on how the project and the calls are evolving. We are now legally creating the foundation, we have the statutes ready, and we are working on the brand image. The foundation will be called “Fundación Mecenas para el Desarrollo y Fomento del Arte” queer”.
Boris' commitment to art and the LGBTIQA+ community is inspiring, and his project has the potential to open up new opportunities for artists queer, promote the convergence of artistic disciplines, and strengthen the resistance and belonging of this community through artivism. At Antenna, we are excited to be part of this journey and to see how Boris' vision becomes a reality.
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