‘Life-changing’ show comes to Fair Park

By Julian Bowman

The Nasher Sculpture Center announces a partnership with the George W. Bush Presidential Center, in association with PHI Studio, Emerson Collective, Legendary Entertainment and Fondazione Prada to bring five-time Academy Award-winning writer and director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s virtual reality exhibition CARNE y ARENA (Virtually present, Physically invisible) to Dallas. The immersive experience that critics call “must see,” “life-changing” and “powerful” will be on view at Fair Park for a limited time from Jan. 21 through April 18. 

The experimental visual installation CARNE y ARENA (Virtually present, Physically invisible) is a solo virtual reality experience that reunites frequent collaborators Alejandro G. Iñárritu and three-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. It was originally produced by Legendary Entertainment, Fondazione Prada and Emerson Collective and premiered at the 70th Festival de Cannes in 2017 as the first VR experience ever chosen as part of the festival’s Official Selection. In 2018, Iñárritu was presented a special Oscar®for CARNE y ARENA by the Academy “in recognition of a visionary and powerful experience in storytelling.” 

CARNE y ARENA employs the highest virtual technology to create a large, multi-narrative light space with human characters. Based on true accounts, the superficial lines between subject and bystander are blurred and bound together, allowing individuals to walk in a vast space and thoroughly live a fragment of the refugees’ personal journeys. 

“During the several years in which this project had been growing in my mind, I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing many Mexican and Central American refugees. Their life stories haunted me, so I invited some of them to collaborate with me in the project,” said Iñárritu. “My intention was to experiment with VR technology to explore the human condition in an attempt to break the dictatorship of the frame — within which things are just observed — and claim the space to allow the visitor to go through a direct experience walking in the immigrants’ feet, under their skin, and into their hearts.” 

Following presentations worldwide — including Los Angeles, Mexico City, Milan, Washington, D.C., and Amsterdam — CARNE y ARENA was optimized for touring by the Montreal-based PHI Studio, which specializes in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and extended reality (XR). The optimized installation allows for enhanced portability as well as increased capacity, upgraded technology and social distancing. The optimized installation premiered in Denver and Montreal, with outstanding reviews and sold-out runs. 

CARNE y ARENA’s Dallas presentation is possible through the support of Emerson Collective, a group that deploys a wide range of tools — from impact investing to philanthropy to advocacy — in pursuit of a more equal and just America, as well as PHI Studio, which focuses its activities on the presentation of immersive works locally and internationally with innovative production approach, technical expertise and achievements in new forms of storytelling. 

CARNE y ARENA’s local operational and programming support is provided by the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Bush Center, which have created this partnership dedicated to furthering constructive conversations about immigration. 

“The profound power of CARNE y ARENA is putting yourself in another person’s shoes, building empathy, and discovering there is more to someone’s lived experience than what you read or see in the news,” said Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president of Emerson Collective. “We are honored to work with the Nasher Sculpture Center and the George W. Bush Presidential Center to offer Texans the opportunity to experience this exhibition, create dialogue, and broaden awareness about immigrants.” 

“PHI’s mission has always been to give voice to artists while also engaging the public on contemporary issues that impact our collective existence,” says Phoebe Greenberg, founder and chief creative officer of PHI. “The CARNE y ARENA experience highlights a human situation that concerns us all. By witnessing the incredible stories of these migrants and refugees, we have no choice but to become aware of a reality that may seem remote to us. Compelled by this striking work at its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and then in Washington, D.C., we did everything possible to adapt the installation so that it could travel around the world and now be experienced in Texas.” 

“The Nasher Sculpture Center is honored to provide staffing and operational support to help bring this innovative experience to Dallas,” says Jeremy Strick, director, Nasher Sculpture Center. “Bearing sympathetic witness to the plight of the migrant and refugee, we trust this immersive, physical experience will bring compassionate discourse to the immigration debate, not only in this country, but around the world, and we are delighted to be part of that progress.” 

“The George W. Bush Institute believes the future prosperity, vitality and security of our nation is intertwined with our immigration system. We are dedicated to changing the terms of the immigration debate and offering solutions that are bold and politically viable.” said Kenneth A. Hersh, president and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. “The Bush Center is proud to partner in bringing CARNE y ARENA to Dallas and using our combined voices to ensure that the United States reaps the benefits of our longstanding history as a nation of immigrants.” 

Virtual and live programming will be held throughout the run of CARNE y ARENA, with additional community partners presenting collateral events. 

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