September 17–28, 2018
Cristina Iglesias, one of the world’s most renowned contemporary artists, will direct this year’s Visual Arts Workshop at Fundación Botín in Santander from September 17 to 28. With the chosen theme “From the inner landscape, the studio, to the outer landscape, the street, nature,” the workshop will begin with intimate reflection in the studio and embrace the whole process until the project is rendered visible in the public space.
The artist from San Sebastián already has a close relationship with Fundación Botín ever since she designed Desde lo subterráneo, a sculptural intervention comprising four wells and a stone pool specifically for the surroundings of Centro Botín and its emplacement in Jardines de Pereda. This connection is now further strengthened with the exhibition CRISTINA IGLESIAS: INTERSPACES, which will open to the public from October 6, 2018 to February 24, 2019.
The 15 artists from around the world to take part in the workshop will be chosen by Cristina Iglesias herself. The way in which the exhibition CRISTINA IGLESIAS: INTERSPACES is mounted at Centro Botín will give them an insight into the way her installations occupy the space and construct a place of their own. As such, the work is not actually finished until it is built, mounted in the particular space and context where it is to be located. At once, the architect Maddi Rotaeche will also play an instrumental role in the workshop, providing support throughout the process and the benefit of her experience.
First of all, the selected artists will explore the city of Santander and its surroundings in order to discover places and contexts, after which they will propose their own individual project, which will then be developed during the workshop through drawings, plans, scale models and videos. At the closing stages of the workshop, a panel of experts will evaluate the projects which must be presented and defended by the participants. In addition, for a more immersive approach, the artists will visit the foundry in Eibar with which Iglesias works, where they will learn more about her project for the lighthouse on the island of Santa Clara in the bay of San Sebastián.
Iglesias will choose the participants in the workshop, which will be carried out in Spanish and in English, from among the applications presented online on www.fundacionbotin.org and www.centrobotin.org, where applicants can also consult the rules and conditions. All applications must be received by August 10, 2018. The chosen artists will receive a stipend of 455 EUR for expenses while non-residents in Cantabria will also be provided with accommodation in a student’s residence hall.
