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After being closed for 11 days, the GAM reopened its doors on October 30 and has not closed them again. It has faced attempted arson, angry graffiti and much effervescence. According to its director, Felipe Mella, 'we decided to establish a more dialogic programming.'
It is almost noon on Wednesday, November 13. The previous day, Santiago experienced a general strike, large demonstrations and a night of disorder and violence. The next day, the GAM offices are open and some people are talking in the cafeteria. There is calm. Hours before, the situation was different. During that night three fire outbreaks broke out in the works of the second stage of the GAM. The flames were put out with the help of the GAM team and the Fire Department. The adjacent church of Veracruz was not so lucky, whose interior was burned. That morning firefighters were still working cooling the burned walls of the historic parish.
Two days later, on Friday the 15th, there is a more optimistic air after the agreement on a new Constitution. But there is also fatigue and yesterday there was again a minor outbreak of fire at the construction sites. `These weeks have been hard. It has been sad that this small group that loots and sets fires, without understanding what is behind it, is released from this great citizen demonstration. As GAM we decided to close for 11 days from Friday, October 18. The first priority was our workers and the public, and the conditions were not there. When we decided to reopen, we did some work to contain the team and reflect on what was happening. There we decided to reformulate our programming, we couldn't turn our backs on what was happening,' explains its director, Felipe Mella.
How has this reformulation been?
`We decided to establish a more dialogic programming. We open ourselves to the meetings of different cultural organizations and to massive conversations. More than 500 people came to the dialogue on the Constitution. The idea is not only to program art, but also to generate spaces for meeting, debate and reflection. These days I have felt that many people feel protected in the GAM, they think that it welcomes them. Furthermore, we are located in a building that has a very important historical memory. Our audience associates it with that.
What happened in the fires?
`We have had two major fire outbreaks in the construction of the second stage of the building. One of them, on the night of Friday the 8th. We managed to turn it off and it flared up again on Saturday, but we turned it off again. This Tuesday, November 12, was the most complex day. There were three outbreaks, the largest in the area where the new stage is. These fires arise from bonfires that are made with rubble, wood or the same closures of the perimeter of the works, which are also used for barricades. We have been in direct communication with the MOP and the firefighters, who together with the GAM team have managed to put a stop to these fires. We are looking at the option of a tougher closure, but it is an expensive project, there are many meters.
`On the Friday of the explosion, they also broke the ticket office and stole a computer. And at the end of October, during a march, the gates gave way to a crowd of 500 people, but basically they were people who wanted to protect themselves.
The front looks very scratched.
`We have a façade that is like the blackboard on the Alameda (smiles). We have respected everything they have left. We haven't deleted anything, new things appear every day: a little soul, posters, canvases, etc. At this moment we are a showcase on the street and in this way we seek to channel expression, we have not censored anything. It's still sad to see it so scratched, but I think we have to understand the situation and take charge.'
What is the general estimate of the damages?
`More than talking about economic losses, I think the damage is for the artists and the public. The assessment of what happened that is still unclear has to incorporate a qualitative aspect, which is precisely what this social movement has been about: learning to be more resilient and open to dialogue as an institution. It will imply a change of consciousness that has been brewing for years and that will make us less individualistic.
How to understand that public spaces, which belong to everyone, are destroyed?
`It hurts that some people do not understand that this is a space for all Chileans. Without justifying it at all, I think that some are Chileans who have a lot of accumulated anger, who have experienced poverty, inequality, the Sename. Chileans whom we have treated badly. Young people who in a certain way cannot identify what they feel. I don't justify it, but I can understand.
I understand that the offers for the new second stage tender were already submitted. Is the construction of the new room postponed now?
`Prior to the outbreak of the 18th, we were on the verge of presenting a proposal and a work schedule. As of March 2020, the work resumed and was delivered in January 2022. It is a very important initiative for the country, I understand that there may be changes, but we have not received any news. Until now, the signal that the MOP gives us is that the project has not been lowered.
`One does not know where the fire is going to end'
The reformulation of the GAM billboard, through the `Alameda Abierto' program, has involved free and massive events, such as the `Víctor Jara Sinfónico' concert, which brought together more than three thousand people. In turn, the GAM Council brought together more than one hundred participants from cultural associations.
I understand that works have been rescheduled and others have been postponed.
`That's right. Due to its social content, we decided to maintain 'La Pérgola de las Flores'. The performances were brought forward to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and end with a public dialogue. The contemporary circus play 'Lipika' also continues (Saturdays and Sundays at 4:00 p.m.). The performances of the piece 'Aliento', by Delfina Guzmán, were postponed to November 23 and 24. Others were left for 2020. It is not easy, because we understand that artists need to live. And if there are no performances, the artists have no salary at the end of the month.
How have they worked with the board?
`I have felt very supported by the board. It is appreciated when there is a corporate government that supports and aligns with the decisions. There has also been a lot of concern on the part of the Ministry of Culture, the minister and the two undersecretaries.
What has been the most dramatic moment?
`The fires of the second stage. One does not know where they are going to end up and the people inside are especially worried.
And the most emotional?
`The spaces of containment that we have had with the GAM workers. It is not easy to manage the tension, but we want to continue welcoming the public, we are one of the few cultural enclaves that continue to have their doors open in the heart of Alameda.
Interview published by ELENA IRARRÁZABAL SÁNCHEZ on 11/17/2019 in Arts and Letters of El Mercurio.