SACO9 Now or never

DIARY OF AN ARTIST RESIDENCY IN PANDEMIC TIMES (OR HOW TO MAKE EMERGENCY ART) | Camila Lucero Allegri As the open call of SACO9 was drawing to a close, we started to hear about the first cases of COVID-19 in Chile on the news. Our country, which had been undergoing a process of transformation ever since October, 2019, would now be facing a situation of isolation, fear, and uncertainty. For those who submitted their proposals during this period, as well as for those who were involved in curating the festival’s ninth edition, surely Now or Never didn’t have quite the same meaning that it would take on a few months later. This whole idea of Now or Never became quite real from one moment to the next. At first, it seemed there would be very little chance of having an on-site festival. However, after months of delays, it was finally decided that the artists would come to Antofagasta. There wasn’t any time for mulling it over; the invitation made the open call’s theme a reality: it’s now or never Surely those of us who experienced SACO9 firsthand can attest to how it was not only the uncertainty, but also the capacity to react and adapt to the changing circumstances that characterized the tone of the event. In this case it wasn’t just the energy of the selected artists and their enthusiasm to materialize their ideas, but also the work of an incredibly committed team, whose ability to find solutions instead of just throwing in the towel is what turned Never into Now. Between canceled flights, long layovers, negative tests, sanitary passports, medical insurance that covers COVID-19, quarantines and daily check-ins, the selected artists came to Antofagasta from all over: Asia, Europe, North and South America.

In the beginning we felt it, and later it was proven to be true: the ninth edition of the festival was especially complex, sensitive, and challenging. At ISLA everything was intense from Day 1. Between the time for staging the exhibition, which was drastically reduced due to the pandemic, and the schedule of activities, we stayed busy. Thanks to the expertise of Héctor, Víctor, Alejandro, Edwin, Christian and the whole SACO team, it was possible to materialize the submissions in light of the unusual circumstances, and against all odds. Not only were timetables met without fail, but there was never a lack of a pisco sour or conversation at the end of the day. There was also time to share patacones, arepas, pasta, miso soup, rösti, mezcal served in a cup made from green chili, and completos, only to continue the staging the next day with big smiles under the masks, out there beneath the desert sun.

Due to the willingness of the artists, as well as the adaptive nature of their pieces, their works were able to merge with the flow of what was happening: each one was constantly changing in response to the space and the public, finding a perfect temporary emergency shelter in the port. Although the works were originally 34