Exhibitionistas: Notes on Contemporary Art and Life

Joana P. R. Neves, art curator and writer

Exhibitionista [exhi·​bi·​tion.ista]: noun; someone who visits contemporary art exhibitions and furthers their art experience in life, through feelings, texts, podcasts, books, conversations, theories, histories. Award winning podcast, created to expand the experience of visual arts into life and back again, through a diversity of formats. Companion of EXHIBITIONISTA, our host's publication on Substack. Your Art Wonderment Podcast Created and hosted by visual arts writer and curator Joana P. R. Neves, each episode starts with a relatable question, or offers an unexpected perspective into a timely or untimely topic, be it through an exhibition, a book, an art work or an artists' practice.  Art Wonderment Tools Special, unique formats provide access to all aspects of contemporary art, including curating, the art market, or art theory . In "Art Etiquette", a new guest surprises Joana with their own question about art. "Poem Delivery Service", a poem-per-episode series, explores the sonic potential of language and the unassuming performance of reading aloud. In the segment "Brainstorm in a Teacup", Joana shares her written notes from old or current notebooks.  Long form episodes: bi-weekly. Bonus episodes are published in between. Joana P. R. Neves is an art writer and curator, co-founder and director of the art & residency space Worlding, and artistic director of Drawing Now Paris. Check out Joana's writing:  Exhibitionista (Substack) In London? Keep up to speed with Joana's art & residency space: Worlding (co-founded with artist Diogo Pimentão) Craving an art gift? Visit:  Worlding's Boutique.

  1. Oct 19 ·  Video

    Art Fair Weird History | Can Visual Arts Coexist with Commerce? | Art History and the Art Market

    Ready to plunge into the depths of art history to resurface with weird art fair histories from Prehistory, the Aztecs to today? Which is a way of asking: is the compulsion to buy rare goods and exemplary artefacts immemorial? How have we evolved into the format of the art fair? Art fairs seem to defy romantic visions of creativity: artists: the art wonderment necessary to free oneself from conventional ideas and dusty traditions while reinventing them. Art works require freedom,  Their art etiquette can puzzle: selling art works feels deeply contradictory with the creativity and meditative explorations that we expect from our contemporary artists.  You wouldn’t leave your favourite coffee shop, flat white in hand, without paying for it, would you? Indie media like Exhibitionistas is free of access. That leaves you with a responsibility-dare I say, an ethical obligation– to pay for what you consume if you can. You can drop £3 if you enjoyed the episode here: : https://buymeacoffee.com/exhibitionista Or you can sign up for a tiered monthly support if you’ve been listening for a while:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2624749/monetization/supporter_settings  Your contribution keeps us going. Read the article by Christian Monger The Evolution of the Art Fair: https://www.jstor.org/stable/0671e890-72d2-323b-964e-767f655980fe?seq=3#page_scan_tab_contents Visit the page about The Birth of the Art Market: Rembrandt, Ruisdael and Van Goyen and the Artists of the Dutch Golden Age: https://www.codart.nl/guide/agenda/birth-art-market-rembrandt-ruisdael-van-goyen-artists-dutch-golden-age/ Caroline Monnet's website: https://carolinemonnet.ca and gallery page: https://blouin-division.com/en/artists/34-caroline-monnet/overview/ The Venus de Renancourt (the Amiens Museum Prehistory female figurines): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vénus_de_Renancourt (FR) Jingle: "Wunder", experimental poem by Joana P. R. Neves. Did the episode stir Art Wonderment memories? Share them via text or voice message. Save the World PodcastIn-depth lectures and interviews on issues affecting the continued survival of human...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify Support the show Created & Hosted by Dr. Joana P. R. Neves, art curator and writer with over 20 years of experience in the contemporary art field. Artistic director of Drawing Now Paris since 2018, she has worked across the industry, from the art market to education. She co-launched the art residency and project space Worlding in 2020. Exhibitionistas’ first year offered exhibition discussions with guest co-host Emily Harding; organically, it grew into a more experimental show exploring art topics, stories and interviews complemented by Joana’s publication Art Thinkosaurus on Substack. She champions ‘Art Wonderment’s’ embrace of complexity against the lure of ready-made opinions. A polyglot, she grew up in Lisbon, studied and lived in Paris, to finally settle in London with her artist husband, four children and two cats.  READ JOANA'S TEXTS: Joana on Substack: https://joanaprneves.substack.com Where you find the Exhibitionistas Files, our Newsletter: ...

    Art Fair Weird History | Can Visual Arts Coexist with Commerce? | Art History and the Art Market
  2. Oct 14 ·  Video

    Poem Delivery Service | Portuguese Poem on Art and Change | Art and Literature

    Can poetry provide clues to questions raised by contemporary art? Art sets the world in motion, sparks changes which we’re not always equipped to absorb, and even understand. Luís de Camões, the great Portuguese Renaissance poet wrote beautifully about art and change… and life. Our host, contemporary art writer and curator Joana P. R. Neves picks a poem per episode in this special series. Did you enjoy the episode? Think about supporting Exhibitionistas by leaving a small donation: https://buymeacoffee.com/exhibitionista Poem delivery service is a new bonus series where Joana explores a poem in a non English language that she loves, but whose translation doesn’t do it justice. She focuses on one poem per episode, briefly contextualising it and shedding light on the specific meaning she took from it, guiding you through the translation. At the end, Joana reads the poem in its original language. Sign up for a tiered monthly support: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2624749/monetization/supporter_settings Your contribution keeps us going. Jingle: "Wunder", experimental poem by Joana P. R. Neves. Did the episode stir Art Wonderment memories? Share them via text or voice message. Support the show Created & Hosted by Dr. Joana P. R. Neves, art curator and writer with over 20 years of experience in the contemporary art field. Artistic director of Drawing Now Paris since 2018, she has worked across the industry, from the art market to education. She co-launched the art residency and project space Worlding in 2020. Exhibitionistas’ first year offered exhibition discussions with guest co-host Emily Harding; organically, it grew into a more experimental show exploring art topics, stories and interviews complemented by Joana’s publication Art Thinkosaurus on Substack. She champions ‘Art Wonderment’s’ embrace of complexity against the lure of ready-made opinions. A polyglot, she grew up in Lisbon, studied and lived in Paris, to finally settle in London with her artist husband, four children and two cats.  READ JOANA'S TEXTS: Joana on Substack: https://joanaprneves.substack.com Where you find the Exhibitionistas Files, our Newsletter: ...

    Poem Delivery Service | Portuguese Poem on Art and Change | Art and Literature
  3. Oct 7 ·  Video

    Redefining Art with Reto Pulfer–Understanding Contemporary Art through Skill–Artist Conversations

    So many definitions of contemporary art… but what if the notion of skill took us deeper into it? As a curator, our host often hears: “my kid could do this”. So, she put her art writer and curator talents to the task of uncovering expectations and misconceptions about visual arts that it expresses. This is also an artist conversation episode: the first part explores 20th century art through the notion of skill, and the second invites the Swiss self-taught artist Reto Pulfer to provide his own art experience and education insights into this matter. Did you enjoy the episode? Think about supporting Exhibitionistas by leaving a small donation: https://buymeacoffee.com/exhibitionista Skill, takes us to art tradition, craft, art education, curatorial work, exhibition expertise and more. Together, Reto Pulfer and our host explore art as a raw and dynamic relation with ourselves and the world around us. Sign up for a tiered monthly support: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2624749/monetization/supporter_settings Your contribution keeps us going. To know more about Reto Pulfer: Follow him on Instagram: @zustand_retopulfer Visit his website: www.retopulfer.com | www.artmap.com/retopulfer Or have a look at his gallery, Hollybush Gardens, London https://hollybushgardens.co.uk/artists/reto-pulfer/ You can find his novel, Gina (2020) in the links below: Les Presses du Réel Presse Books Hollybush Gardens Jingle: "Wunder", experimental poem by Joana P. R. Neves. Did the episode stir Art Wonderment memories? Share them via text or voice message. Save the World PodcastIn-depth lectures and interviews on issues affecting the continued survival of human...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify Support the show Created & Hosted by Dr. Joana P. R. Neves, art curator and writer with over 20 years of experience in the contemporary art field. Artistic director of Drawing Now Paris since 2018, she has worked across the industry, from the art market to education. She co-launched the art residency and project space Worlding in 2020. Exhibitionistas’ first year offered exhibition discussions with guest co-host Emily Harding; organically, it grew into a more experimental show exploring art topics, stories and interviews complemented by Joana’s publication Art Thinkosaurus on Substack. She champions ‘Art Wonderment’s’ embrace of complexity against the lure of ready-made opinions. A polyglot, she grew up in Lisbon, studied and lived in Paris, to finally settle in London with her artist husband, four children and two cats.  READ JOANA'S TEXTS: Joana on Substack: https://joanaprneves.substack.com Where you find the Exhibitionistas Files, our Newsletter: ...

    Redefining Art with Reto Pulfer–Understanding Contemporary Art through Skill–Artist Conversations
  4. Sep 28 ·  Video

    Exhibition Discussions | Is the Curatorial Twist of Ana Mendieta's Tate Show Anti-Feminist?

    Biography enlightens the work of an artist but, in rare occasions, it can obliterate it. A polemic curatorial choice in Ana Mendieta's exhibition at Tate Modern illustrates this puzzling question. This unexpected curatorial twist may lean into anti-feminism if we stay on the surface of the discourse. Dive into it with our host Joana P. R. Neves, a curator and an art writer.  What decision did Valentina Umansky and Michael Wellen, the curators of the show make, and what third person, instrumental in delivering the work, helped them?  To tell or not to tell?  Did you enjoy the episode? Think about supporting Exhibitionistas by leaving a small donation: https://buymeacoffee.com/exhibitionista Have you ever wondered what it's like to curate a big, blockbuster exhibition? If you have, this episode is for you. It unveils certain ethics of curatorial work, an extremely important aspects of the job, especially when the artist is no longer alive. Sign up for a tiered monthly support: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2624749/monetization/supporter_settings Your contribution keeps us going. Jingle: "Wunder", experimental poem by Joana P. R. Neves. Did the episode stir Art Wonderment memories? Share them via text or voice message. Save the World PodcastIn-depth lectures and interviews on issues affecting the continued survival of human...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify Support the show Created & Hosted by Dr. Joana P. R. Neves, art curator and writer with over 20 years of experience in the contemporary art field. Artistic director of Drawing Now Paris since 2018, she has worked across the industry, from the art market to education. She co-launched the art residency and project space Worlding in 2020. Exhibitionistas’ first year offered exhibition discussions with guest co-host Emily Harding; organically, it grew into a more experimental show exploring art topics, stories and interviews complemented by Joana’s publication Art Thinkosaurus on Substack. She champions ‘Art Wonderment’s’ embrace of complexity against the lure of ready-made opinions. A polyglot, she grew up in Lisbon, studied and lived in Paris, to finally settle in London with her artist husband, four children and two cats.  READ JOANA'S TEXTS: Joana on Substack: https://joanaprneves.substack.com Where you find the Exhibitionistas Files, our Newsletter: ...

    Exhibition Discussions | Is the Curatorial Twist of Ana Mendieta's Tate Show Anti-Feminist?
  5. Sep 21 ·  Video

    Paula do Prado, “Tejedora” | What Stories–and Histories–Resurface in Her Textile Art? | Contemporary Artist Interviews

    What if weaving released untold stories? And how does textile art with such narrative yet abstract powers fit into contemporary art and its traditionally European systems? Joana’s conversation with contemporary artist Paula do Prado takes unexpected turns and spreads across at least 3 different continents–if not more. What influence did the lost language of the Charrúa people and her Uruguayan past and lineage have on her work? Or, rather, is it even possible to locate the intuitive, dreamt and compulsive patterns and figures that emerge from her fingers, without any preconceived sketches or pre-established patterns?  Did you enjoy the episode? Think about supporting Exhibitionistas by leaving a small donation: https://buymeacoffee.com/exhibitionista This episode is a partnership with Worlding, a non-profit co-founded by our host, Joana P. R. Neves, in Elephant and Castle, London. Paula do Prado’s Residency is a proposal by Adelaide Bannerman / Never Done. The artist’s residency is supported by Creative Australia. Paula do Prado is represented by Station Australia and is current a studio resident at Artspace, Woolloomoloo. Following her Worlding residency, Paula will hold her first institutional show as part of the Artspace x Art Gallery of New South Wales Co-Commission as part of the Contemporary Arts Project Space, Art Gallery of New South Wales 28 November 2026 to 14 February 2027. See more https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/paula-do-prado/ To know more about Worlding, visit the website: www.worldingproject.com/ Sign up for a tiered monthly support: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2624749/monetization/supporter_settings Your contribution keeps us going. Resources: Conversation between Paula do Prado and Mónica Michelena: https://vimeo.com/835732257?fl=pl&fe=sh (Spanish) Paula do Prado’s website (art / projects / workshops): www.studiodoprado.com Jingle: "Wunder", experimental poem by Joana P. R. Neves. Did the episode stir Art Wonderment memories? Share them via text or voice message. Save the World PodcastIn-depth lectures and interviews on issues affecting the continued survival of human...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify Support the show Created & Hosted by Dr. Joana P. R. Neves, art curator and writer with over 20 years of experience in the contemporary art field. Artistic director of Drawing Now Paris since 2018, she has worked across the industry, from the art market to education. She co-launched the art residency and project space Worlding in 2020. Exhibitionistas’ first year offered exhibition discussions with guest co-host Emily Harding; organically, it grew into a more experimental show exploring art topics, stories and interviews complemented by Joana’s publication Art Thinkosaurus on Substack. She champions ‘Art Wonderment’s’ embrace of complexity against the lure of ready-made opinions. A polyglot, she grew up in Lisbon, studied and lived in Paris, to finally settle in London with her artist husband, four children and two cats.  READ JOANA'S TEXTS: Joana on Substack: https://joanaprneves.substack.com Where you find the Exhibitionistas Files, our Newsletter: ...

    Paula do Prado, “Tejedora” | What Stories–and Histories–Resurface in Her Textile Art? | Contemporary Artist Interviews
  6. Sep 14 ·  Video

    Bonus Episode – The Embodied Art of Reading Aloud – Poem Delivery Service

    There are pockets of creativity in our everyday life. The embodied art of READING ALOUD is an overlooked source of joy, containing so many aspects that contemporary art and artists explore in their practice... Performance, drawing, text, breathing patterns... It all starts with Joana P. R. Neves, our host, asking what the body can do by itself, or with very little assistance, inspired by the last episode dedicated to artist Ana Mendieta. This is also our way of introducing the upcoming bonus mini-series POEM DELIVERY SERVICE, a poem-per-episode... with a twist. Mentions of: #anthonymccall #eteladnan #emilydickinson #gerhardrichter #rebeccahorn #jimjarmush and more... KEEP US GOING: Support the research for this podcast with a coffee, or a book: https://buymeacoffee.com/exhibitionista Become a paid member: https://tinyurl.com/5d9kj5m2 Donate: https://donorbox.org/support-exhibiti... Sound residencies WORLDING SOUNDINGS RESIDENCY TICKETS: https://tinyurl.com/52yjtu2r WORLDING SOUNDINGS JAM TICKETS: https://tinyurl.com/yey2sdyrFind out more about WORLDING: https://www.worldingproject.com/ Jingle: "Wunder", experimental poem by Joana P. R. Neves. Did the episode stir Art Wonderment memories? Share them via text or voice message. Save the World PodcastIn-depth lectures and interviews on issues affecting the continued survival of human...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify Support the show Created & Hosted by Dr. Joana P. R. Neves, art curator and writer with over 20 years of experience in the contemporary art field. Artistic director of Drawing Now Paris since 2018, she has worked across the industry, from the art market to education. She co-launched the art residency and project space Worlding in 2020. Exhibitionistas’ first year offered exhibition discussions with guest co-host Emily Harding; organically, it grew into a more experimental show exploring art topics, stories and interviews complemented by Joana’s publication Art Thinkosaurus on Substack. She champions ‘Art Wonderment’s’ embrace of complexity against the lure of ready-made opinions. A polyglot, she grew up in Lisbon, studied and lived in Paris, to finally settle in London with her artist husband, four children and two cats.  READ JOANA'S TEXTS: Joana on Substack: https://joanaprneves.substack.com Where you find the Exhibitionistas Files, our Newsletter: ...

    Bonus Episode – The Embodied Art of Reading Aloud – Poem Delivery Service
  7. Sep 8 ·  Video

    Ana Mendieta | Earth and Feminist Art Embodied at Tate Modern Exhibition

    What does the artist’s body do? No one pushes us to ask this more than the Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta. Her excavated silhouettes in the landscape, where her body would at times lie, covered with petals or feathers, are but one of the actions and rituals that she performed during her short career. What did occur in her own body? Community? Communion? What was the origin and the purpose of her embodied art? And what is the medium for this kind of art, happening in and with the body of the artist?   Did you enjoy the episode? Think about supporting Exhibitionistas by leaving a small donation: https://buymeacoffee.com/exhibitionista Celebrated for being a visionary eco-feminist, an activist against violence women, Ana Mendieta’s work is often obliterated by the sensationalism around it. The exhibition at Tate Modern feels like meeting the artist for the first time. For more info: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/ana-mendieta  Sign up for a tiered monthly support: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2624749/monetization/supporter_settings Your contribution keeps us going. Art Etiquette Segment guest:  Esther Stanford, is the co-host of award winning podcast Limited Time Only (with Susie Riddell, WINNER: ‘BEST COMEDY MOMENT’ International Women In Podcast Awards 2025 sponsored by BBC SOUNDS), she is a sketch and TV writer. You can find her on Instagram, on YouTube, March House, a channel she has just launched where you can also find her podcast Conversations with Creatives. Or simply her website: ww.estherstanford.co.uk.  Soon: Bonus – full length Art Etiquette episodes. Segment: Brainstorm in a Teacup: Come for the art, stay for the creative writing segment, where Joana reads short texts from her notebooks exposing her inner thoughts and unexpected fictional / poetic / non-fiction / flash writing. Jingle: "Wunder", experimental poem by Joana P. R. Neves. Did the episode stir Art Wonderment memories? Share them via text or voice message. Save the World PodcastIn-depth lectures and interviews on issues affecting the continued survival of human...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify Support the show Created & Hosted by Dr. Joana P. R. Neves, art curator and writer with over 20 years of experience in the contemporary art field. Artistic director of Drawing Now Paris since 2018, she has worked across the industry, from the art market to education. She co-launched the art residency and project space Worlding in 2020. Exhibitionistas’ first year offered exhibition discussions with guest co-host Emily Harding; organically, it grew into a more experimental show exploring art topics, stories and interviews complemented by Joana’s publication Art Thinkosaurus on Substack. She champions ‘Art Wonderment’s’ embrace of complexity against the lure of ready-made opinions. A polyglot, she grew up in Lisbon, studied and lived in Paris, to finally settle in London with her artist husband, four children and two cats.  READ JOANA'S TEXTS: Joana on Substack: https://joanaprneves.substack.com Where you find the Exhibitionistas Files, our Newsletter: ...

    Ana Mendieta | Earth and Feminist Art Embodied at Tate Modern Exhibition
  8. Aug 25 ·  Video

    Surprise Bonus Episode | The Way: What Ursula K. Le Guin's Favourite Book Uncovered | Art and Literature Edition

    We have great news! We're an Award Winning Podcast–Women Who Podcast award in the LGBTQIA+ category Bonus Episode: Le Guin / Indigenous History / Lao Tzu / and more... What was Ursula K. Le Guin's favourite book, and what did it uncover about the revered author's world-building and family legacy? Did you enjoy the episode? Leave a small donation: https://buymeacoffee.com/exhibitionista When she was a guest on the podcast, art Curator Catherine Li brought in a revelation about Ursula K. Le Guin's favourite book, tied in with her family's history, which didn’t make it to the final cut. Here it is for you, as a little end of Summer bonus, while we prepare the rentrée with panache. Sign up for a tiered monthly support: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2624749/monetization/supporter_settings Your contribution keeps us going. This reminded our host, art curator and writer Joana P. R. Neves, about a traumatic episode in Le Guin's family and close peer circle, which reflects indigenous trauma and the hidden history of the USA that was certainly crucial for Le Guin's worldview.  For a tiered support for less than 1£ / 1€, go to Patreon–exclusive content coming up soon: https://www.patreon.com/c/exhibitionistaspodcast/membership With a short reading from the The Wave in the Mind, Le Guin's collection of essays about writing, reading and more, and of the Tao Te Ching / text 48, translated by Le Guin. Become a member of Art Thinkosaurus on Substack and expand your Exhibitionistas experience with Joana's writing: https://joanaprneves.substack.com/subscribe [Unpublished segment of Joana's conversation with art curator Catherine Li around the writer Ursula K' Le Guin's seminal text The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction with a few quick curiosities that shed a different light on the science fiction author.] SAFE PRACTICE OF *ART WONDERMENT* GUARANTEED WITH EXHIBITIONISTAS. LINKS: Catherine Li's episode:  APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/exhibitionistas-notes-on-contemporary-art-and-life/id1727615833?i=1000734364234 YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/N97yd5t3pFY?si=i5kLWV6dXO5NPRic Award winning episode with Gemma Rolls Bentley and E-J Scott: APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/exhibitionistas-notes-on-contemporary-art-and-life/id1727615833?i=1000719853150 YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/RQvmgEXMAlQ?si=gu3fJlVPiPRDgSCN Jingle: "Wunder", experimental poem by Joana P. R. Neves. Did the episode stir Art Wonderment memories? Share them via text or voice message. Save the World PodcastIn-depth lectures and interviews on issues affecting the continued survival of human...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify Support the show Created & Hosted by Dr. Joana P. R. Neves, art curator and writer with over 20 years of experience in the contemporary art field. Artistic director of Drawing Now Paris since 2018, she has worked across the industry, from the art market to education. She co-launched the art residency and project space Worlding in 2020. Exhibitionistas’ first year offered exhibition discussions with guest co-host Emily Harding; organically, it grew into a more experimental show exploring art topics, stories and interviews complemented by Joana’s publication Art Thinkosaurus on Substack. She champions ‘Art Wonderment’s’ embrace of complexity against the lure of ready-made opinions. A polyglot, she grew up in Lisbon, studied and lived in Paris, to finally settle in London with her artist husband, four children and two cats.  READ JOANA'S TEXTS: Joana on Substack: https://joanaprneves.substack.com Where you find the Exhibitionistas Files, our Newsletter: ...

    Surprise Bonus Episode | The Way: What Ursula K. Le Guin's Favourite Book Uncovered | Art and Literature Edition

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Exhibitionista [exhi·​bi·​tion.ista]: noun; someone who visits contemporary art exhibitions and furthers their art experience in life, through feelings, texts, podcasts, books, conversations, theories, histories. Award winning podcast, created to expand the experience of visual arts into life and back again, through a diversity of formats. Companion of EXHIBITIONISTA, our host's publication on Substack. Your Art Wonderment Podcast Created and hosted by visual arts writer and curator Joana P. R. Neves, each episode starts with a relatable question, or offers an unexpected perspective into a timely or untimely topic, be it through an exhibition, a book, an art work or an artists' practice.  Art Wonderment Tools Special, unique formats provide access to all aspects of contemporary art, including curating, the art market, or art theory . In "Art Etiquette", a new guest surprises Joana with their own question about art. "Poem Delivery Service", a poem-per-episode series, explores the sonic potential of language and the unassuming performance of reading aloud. In the segment "Brainstorm in a Teacup", Joana shares her written notes from old or current notebooks.  Long form episodes: bi-weekly. Bonus episodes are published in between. Joana P. R. Neves is an art writer and curator, co-founder and director of the art & residency space Worlding, and artistic director of Drawing Now Paris. Check out Joana's writing:  Exhibitionista (Substack) In London? Keep up to speed with Joana's art & residency space: Worlding (co-founded with artist Diogo Pimentão) Craving an art gift? Visit:  Worlding's Boutique.

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