The sixth annual season for contemporary Spanish art and culture will take over London from October to 25th November. Spain NOW! 2014 will showcase the latest creative talent through a number of exhibitions, events and performances all around London portraying Spain’s creativity and cultural diversity.
The season offers a snapshot into Spain’s contemporary arts scene and spans across dance, literature, architecture and visual art at a variety of London venues such as the Barbican Centre, Sadler’s Wells and the Hanmi Gallery in Fitzrovia.
Architect and theorist, Andrés Jaque, will open the season on 9 October following his win of the Silver Lion at this year’s Venice Biennale. He will be exploring the borders of architecture, how it evolves to meet the challenges of the city and whether it connects and communicates with society. The opening day will also see the Barbican Centre host the premiere of ‘El Edificio’ directed by Victor Moreno which looks at the renovation of the iconic Edificio España; an emblematic building in Madrid that symbolised prosperity under the Franco regime.
Events throughout the season include the Open Studios Weekend from 7th to 9th November which will see Spanish artists open their studio doors to the public, as well as the launch of new English translations of two works of contemporary fiction by authors Nicolás Casariego and Pedro Zarraluki, held in London Review Bookshop in Bloomsbury. Founding editor of ‘Words without Borders’, Samantha Schnee, will join the launch encouraging conversation around this year’s theme of ‘humour in contemporary Spanish fiction’. In mid-October photographer Ricky Dávila will exhibit works at the 12 Star Gallery in Westminster, in collaboration with PhotoEspaña, a prestigious photography festival which is cited as one of the highlights of Spain Now! 2014.
AVA Dance will close the season on 24-25th November, with the performance of ‘Provisional Landscapes’ at Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells. Spain NOW! 2014’s programme of events and exhibitions will use London as a platform to display Spain’s wealth of contemporary art and culture.
