Arts Lab 5.0: Carla Ditmeyer, Bolivia - Month 1

To be honest, my first month in this project was an emotional whirlwind from which a rebirth emerged, mostly positive and filled with love for art, people, and everything that now surrounds me, which I call home today.

I was the first to arrive at this house, the first to imagine what this big house filled with people and vitality would be like. The truth is that, at first, the house, while it felt welcoming, filled with materials, paintings, books, and art, also felt intimidating, large, and full of stories told and yet to be told.

From the very first day, they invited me to pick up the camera and create. It was intimidating. Along with Mihaela and other local volunteers, we went to a Jazz music festival in Cucuteni. I was amazed by the beauty of the place, the warmness of the people, and the quality of the event, as the participating artists were all incredibly talented. I was responsible for capturing some general shots of the event, but I felt intense fear because of the pressure to start creating so abruptly, from the very first day and the very first moment.

I felt like I was in a dream, seeing such beautiful and somehow familiar landscapes. I began to get to know people little by little, and I must say I feel like I've known them for a long time. Hugs, late-night kitchen conversations, occasional "family dinners," and simply the satisfaction of getting to know everyone a little more every day, delving into their inner world, their dreams, feelings, and the intensity of their deepest passions, whether related to art or anything else I could learn about them. The routine, the mundane, the relational, and the feeling of connection I have with all these characters in the Art Lab make me incredibly happy, I won't lie.

I feel like I've been here for years because so much has happened in just one month. The Jazz festival in Cucuteni, visiting Iași, traveling to Todirești, traveling to Piatra Neamț, and so many other things that would require at least 10 pages to describe in detail. All of these experiences left me with a beautiful feeling in my heart, not just because of what I saw but mainly because of the energy of the people who welcomed us. At the Jazz festival, we met volunteers, as well as certain fire-juggling artists, people selling folk jewelry, artists teaching the art of Cucuteni pottery, and the musicians themselves, including the person who organized the entire festival, a professional musician who had traveled the world, including my country, Bolivia. We then met incredible local artisans at a craft fair in Târgu Frumos. The same in Pașcani, a festival full of music, dance, and very interesting people shining with their work and receiving recognition, which will be seen in the documentaries created by the association to give them the attention they deserve. In Todirești, it was an unforgettable experience where we visited several villages on horseback, as if in a bizarre time machine, and I wondered, how did I end up here? We visited people in their homes, providing access to their intimacy, to who they are, who they were, and who they continue to be. It was beautiful to learn that some of these houses had been preserved in the same way for over 50 years. We visited lavender fields, farms, a cereal factory, an impressive cultural museum filled with folk elements, and a stone house built by a sculptor that left us all in awe. The event itself was beautiful, with so much music to listen to, we saw the entire competition, learned about dances, traditions, and especially enjoyed a lot of (and when I say a lot, I mean a lot) delicious food offered to us, and believe me, we enjoyed every second of the wonderful buffet.

Doing workshops was challenging at first, but I feel it will get better with time.

In any case, I'm excited about what will happen in the future. With everything that has happened, I feel so excited about what's to come.

Carla Wara Ditmeyer Queteguari is from Bolivia, and she is participating in a six-month volunteering program within Arts Lab 5.0, a project co-funded by the European Union through the European Solidarity Corps.