2009-2010:Texts

Presentation

Jorge Díez

For the first time since its inception, MADRID ABIERTO has taken place over two years. This was one of the changes proposed by the advisory committee that completed its task in 2008. One of the members of this committee is the curator of this sixth edition, Cecilia Andersson, who in her introduction analyses the processes she has followed to select the ten artistic interventions (Adaptive Actions, Lara Almarcegui, Laurence Bonvin, Susanne Bosch, Lisa Cheung, Teddy Cruz, Iñaki Larrimbe, Josep-Maria Martín, Gustavo Romano and Pablo Valbuena) which we are presenting from 4th to 28th February 2010, although several of them have been active for some months already in different forms throughout the city. Participation in the open call was quite plentiful, reaching 587 proposals by 769 artists from around the world.

In the area of sound art 48 were presented, from which we selected Sarah Boothroyd, Manuel Calurano Ramos/Anna Raimondo, Yves Coussement, Javier Díez-Ena, Wade Matthews, Annemarie Steinvoort, Matthew Verdon, Hernani Villaseñor Ramírez and Gloria Zein. To these were added the audiovisual works of Fausto Grossi, Puy San Martín/ Nerea Lekuona (Sinbait), Izibene Oñederra, Logela, Iván Argote, David Elguea, Vanesa Castro López (Fur Alle Falle), Iñaki López (Fur Alle Falle), Xuban Intxausti, Wolf D. Schreiber, Fabricio Caiazza, Lobo Pasolini and the group Left Hand Rotation, selected in the ninth and tenth edition of Intervenciones.tv, a project which has decided to close its cycle of activities with the participation of guests such as Antoni Muntadas, Eugeni Bonet, Antoni Mercader and Joaquim Dols Rusiñol, whose works were also included in our section on audiovisuals.

In February 2009, we held at La Casa Encendida in Madrid the seminary Urban Buddy Scheme, together with a presentation of the artists and a meeting to prepare their projects in the form of an open workshop. The Spanish participants invited were Basurama, C.A.S.I.T.A., Javier Duero, Exprimentolimon, Uriel Fogué, Andrés Jaque, Kawamura-Ganjavian, Ludotek, Luis Úrculo and Wunderkammer, and from other countries, Alexander Gerdel (Venezuela), International Festival (Sweden), Kyong Park (USA ), Adriana Salazar (Colombia) and STEAL TH.unlimited (Serbia/Netherlands).

The seminar analysed the possibilities of a socio-cultural and politically engaged collaborative effort, as well as the way in which such an initiative could act as a catalyst for change in the city, striving to activate processes that integrate new scopes of knowledge within existing ones.

Thanks to this new biennial format, the artists selected have had more time to become familiar with the local context and to prepare their projects, also facilitating various connections between some of the projects and between several of them with many city agents. This has also allowed addressing some of the gaps which concern us most, such as the lack of an educational programme in relation to MADRID ABIERTO.

As a result of the collaboration with the doctorate programme Art Applications in Social Integration at the Faculty of Education at the Complutense University of Madrid and thanks to the interest of its director, Marián López Fernández-Cao, we have had the valuable contribution of María Molina, who has prepared a prototype of an educational workshop and then developed it as a pilot experience (Aula Abierta), as well as providing part of the contents for the specific projects by Susanne Bosch and Lisa Cheung.

Among the common failings is the lack of resources to communicate the projects. Our choice has always been to favour production. Throughout 2009 we distributed the book MADRID ABIERTO 2004-2008, which presents the fifty-five projects presented during the first five editions, as well as the pieces selected in the sound and audiovisual sections, along with the round table discussions that were held.

Additionally, the information desk at La Casa Encendida as well as the round table discussions and artist presentations, have helped overcome this lack of information in the latest editions, along with the distribution of fifty thousand issues of this publication. Nonetheless, information in the street is still a weakness of this and many other programmes of public art. Previously we used various means to resolve this issue. We even built, together with a street furniture company, an information point prototype designed by Kawamura-Ganjavian.

Now we have taken another small step by producing the INFOMAB, also designed by Kawamura- Ganjavian at their Studio Banana, a space with which MADRID ABIERTO aims to extend this collaboration in a similar way as that promoted by Mariano Serrano, who has collaborated in various aspects of this edition, as well as Iñaki Domínguez, Jorge Todolí, Sonsoles Rodríguez and Paula González. We would like to thank all of them most sincerely and in particular, we would like to thank Marta de la Torriente, whose work as general coordinator is never sufficiently acknowledged.

Organised by the Cultural Association MADRID ABIERTO, this edition is being promoted by the Vice Presidency, Regional Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Office of the Spokesperson of the Regional Government of Madrid and the Government Area of Arts of the Madrid Council, with the collaboration of Casa de América, Fundación Telefónica, La Casa Encendida, Círculo de Bellas Artes, ARCO , Ministerio de Cultura, Radio Nacional de España, Fundación Rodríguez/Centro Cultural Montehermoso, Pro Helvetia, British Council, Art Council of North Ireland, Canada Council for the Arts, AECID, Québec Government, Renfe Cercanías Madrid, diario Público, Facultad de Educación de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Espacio 28004, Studio Banana, Studio Kawamura-Ganjavian and Zoohaus.

Continuing with the work of previous editions RMS La Asociación is in charge of coordination and equipo 451 of graphics and the web (www.madridabierto.com). Our thanks to all of them.