Prototipoak: International Biennial of New Artistic Forms

Azkuna Zentroa—Alhóndiga Bilbao, the Bilbao Society and Contemporary Culture Centre, presents a new edition of Prototipoak: International Biennial of New Artistic Forms which takes place from May 30 to June 3.

Prototipoak is a Biennale that brings together artists with unique perspectives and diverse backgrounds, who propose new experiences rooted in the specificity of site and context. Through their uses of contemporary artistic forms, in various scenarios and formats—each with their own conventions and temporalities—they each question different aspects of reality and attempt to open up opportunities for transformation.

In the 2023 edition, Prototipoak is curated by Rosa Casado, Maider López, Stéphane Nöel and Fernando Pérez and looks at the social emotions, thoughts and feelings around the experience of everything that happens at Azkuna Zentroa—Alhóndiga Bilbao and how it impacts people’s lives. It aims to “re-naturalise” the space through a new reflection on the past and future of culture in the interstice between art and society, artists and the communities of audiences. 

The Biennial is consolidated as a benchmark for new artistic forms and has in this edition the participation of artists such as Ayşe Erkmen (Turkey), with a site-specific that takes the form of a self-portrait on authorship, reproduction and identity in one of the columns of the Atrium; Iratxe Jaio + Klaas Van Gorkum (Basque Country/Holland), with an artistic action in the form of a time capsule as a testimony of the current historical and ecological moment; Fermín Jiménez Landa (Spain), with a project to recover plants, aroma and flavor in the form of ice cream; Gilles Jobin’s company (Switzerland) with a remote and live digital performance which takes place in Geneva and is broadcast in real time in Bilbao; Ainhoa ​​​​Lekerika (Basque Country) with a collective intervention in the exhibition hall in which the space is drawn with red carmine; Laida Lertxundi (Basque Country), with the collaborative film project 8 Topaketa, developed as Associated Artist at Azkuna Zentroa; Teatro Ojo (Mexico) with a scenic and participatory art proposal in the form of a call center; orangcosong (Japan) with a workshop/performance that proposes a dialogue through writing and drawing; Susana Velasco (Spain), with an installation that shows the ability of architecture to mediate between bodies and landscape; and Ramón Williams (Cuba/United States), with a photographic series that reveals the process of assembly and disassembly of works in a museum.

These new artistic projects are created specifically for the Alhóndiga space or aim to transform the pre-existing architectural and social context of the Centre and the city. In short, these are proposals aimed at an interaction between life and art that come from very distinct collective imaginations and look at contemporary creativity through the lens of internationally renowned artists. 

In many ways, Prototipoak is the paradigm of the Centre’s cultural proposal. A programme focused on promoting and disseminating contemporary languages, creating meeting spaces between artists and communities of audiences, and generating unique experiences. All of this contributes to the creation of Azkuna Zentroa’s cultural heritage, which does not rely on collections the way museums do. Instead, it is composed of the programmes, books, activities, screenings, festivals and exhibitions that are generated on a daily basis.