“Body of Bodies” is the theme of the New Kids show scheduled for December 18th in Maputo. More than a futuristic fiction, the show is an emotional manifesto: it questions the boundary between feeling and programming, between existing and functioning, according to the artistic director, Panaibra Canda.
A Maputo-based creative residency project, Fast Forward, New Kids brings together prominent young people in the Mozambican art scene, expanding the concept of artistic creation to technological innovation, demonstrating the power of interdisciplinarity when combined with youthful talent and irreverence.
The performance being prepared for the stage will delve into humanity’s relationship with science and technology, in a reflection through art, on what remains after machines have “invaded” people’s natural habitat.
“Body of Bodies was born from the desire to understand what remains of humanity in an increasingly programmed world. It is not a piece about machines, but about emotions, about gesture, gaze, and presence that resist time. Each artist brought their body as a tool and memory, and together we created a space where technology and sensitivity meet. I believe that the body, even wounded or mechanized, continues to be the place of truth. And if, in the end, the audience feels something, even a brief silence within themselves, then the show has fulfilled its purpose: to remind us that we are still made of flesh, memory, and light.” Says New Kids artistic director Panaibra Canda.
Since 2022, New Kids has been created with the idea of empowering the talent of young artists, boosting their careers, through training, collaboration, and the provision of complementary tools for the professionalization and sustainability of artistic work. While the two previous editions – 2022 and 2023 – focused on creating a musical, this year the diverse cast of creatives promises to take the experience beyond a single artistic genre.
Written by: Eduardo Quive
