They’re a small studio, but they thought big, and their efforts paid off: the El Embarque project, in which Carolina Curbelo—a graduate of the Bachelor’s program in Graphic Design and a professor in the School of Communication and Design at Universidad ORT Uruguayand Michelle Malréchauffé—a student in the same program—participated, was a finalist at the Ibero-American Design Biennial, considered one of the most important events in international contemporary design.
The project was originally conceived by photographer Diego Vidart and offers a contemporary take on Juan Manuel Blanes’s portrait of the landing of the 33 Uruguayans. Curbelo and Malréchauffé developed the brand identity and communication strategy, and with this work they entered one of the biennial’s categories dedicated to projects that operate at the intersection of various disciplines—a category that typically features large-scale projects.
Next, Ms. Curbelo tells us more about this project.
What was the purpose of making a new version of the landing of the 33 Orientals?
El Embarque aims to create a contemporary adaptation of Juan Manuel Blanes’s play *The Oath of the 33 Orientals *. On April 19, 1825, thirty-three men landed on the banks of the Uruguay River. This milestone set in motion the nation’s independence process, and later, more than half a million European immigrants arrived at the port of Montevideo, giving rise to the largest wave of immigration in the country’s history (from the late 1800s to the early 1900s).
Later on, Uruguay experienced another wave of emigration as hundreds of families and young people left the country, first for political reasons and later for economic ones.
The project is a work that depicts the “departure” of 33 anonymous citizens and their stories of recent migration.
You mentioned that you had to keep the participants in suspense to maintain their interest throughout the project. Why is that?
In July–August 2017, the collaborative creation process began with an open call for participants to take part in this large-scale photograph that would bring together the 33 “new Orientals.”
The call for submissions was as simple as it was powerful: we were looking for stories of migration. We received more than 150 stories from young people, grandparents, couples, families... stories of connections and disconnections, of love, of breakups—some stories were incomplete or lacked a clear ending, while others were full of hope.
In October, following a selection process, the photo was taken at the old Carrasco Airport, and interviews were conducted so that the participants could share those 33 life stories.
Then, one by one, those stories were unveiled—one per week—on the website and social media, capturing the attention of the public and the press. The project managed to tap into the collective memory of a country; those stories were everyone’s stories.
In June 2018, a book containing all 33 stories was published, and an exhibition opened featuring a photograph the same size as Juan Manuel Blanes’ painting *The Oath of the 33 Orientals *.
How were the participants selected?
The selection was made by the project’s creator, Diego Vidart, who sought to portray contemporary Uruguay through this work. An interesting fact: among the 33 participants are two professors from Universidad ORT Uruguay: Fabián Barros and María Eugenia Pérez Burger, both from the School of Communication and Design.
You contributed to the project by developing the brand identity and communication strategy. What do those tasks entail?
We worked with Michelle to create the logo and all the graphic materials for the various stages of the project: the call for entries, the promotional campaign, the airport event, and the subsequent exhibition. We developed a website that served as a blog where participants’ stories and the project timeline were posted. We also handled communications on social media and with the press.
El Embarque allowed us to be part of a large multidisciplinary team, which included everyone from photographers and filmmakers to journalists and historians. I think we enjoy these cross-disciplinary projects so much because they push us to step outside our comfort zones and seek solutions by incorporating other perspectives. Perhaps it was that enthusiasm and all that collective energy that managed to stand out and get our work noticed by the biennial. For us, it’s a tremendous honor.
What is the biennial about, and what does it mean to be a finalist in your category?
The biennial aims to reflect on and discuss new production models, new uses of materials, business and entrepreneurial models, proposals for social integration, and training for young people and future professionals. It explores processes, interpretations, experiences, and ways of thinking about society and living within it through design, driven by a collective spirit.
Michelle and I are incredibly proud to receive this recognition. We’re a small two-person studio working on this project, which addresses a social and cultural issue like contemporary migration. We honestly didn’t expect it, but we’re thrilled to have received it, and it motivates us to keep working, confident that we’re on the right track by focusing on local projects.
We’re really happy, especially since we were competing in a major category like Integrated/Cross-Functional Design. That’s why we’re proud to see our work recognized. Obviously, we wanted to win, but we’re still happy with this recognition.
How long will your project be on display at the biennial? Where can it be seen?
The exhibition opened in Madrid on November 26 and will run through January 29, 2019. It will then begin its tour of other cities in Spain and the countries participating in the biennial: Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Portugal, Costa Rica, and Cuba, before arriving in Uruguay (the date has not yet been confirmed).
To learn more about the project, see the photos, and read the stories of the 33 new Orientals, visit their Instagram account