Five contemporary art projects will be presented at the University of Alicante Museum as part of its artistic creation and research residency program. The aim is to showcase new work this year during the eighth edition, with a two week window from September 12 to 23 to develop proposals using the museum’s facilities. The outcome will culminate in a joint exhibition spanning multiple disciplines, all anchored in current creative practice and focused on the results of the artists’ investigations.
Out of thirty three submissions, five projects were selected and will receive a 500 Euro production scholarship. In addition, one project will be granted 1,000 Euro for accommodation, awarded to the participant from Granada. Most applications came from outside the province, with many from both Spain and abroad. Responding to growing international interest, the university plans to double accommodation stipends next year, raising the amount to one thousand Euros to support more artists during the residency at the museum.
In photography, the work centers on Rabasa, a neighborhood in Alicante, and follows a long-standing practice in which a photographer explores landscapes that resist conventional utopian visions. The project invites audiences to consider how alternative aesthetics can reshape perception of familiar spaces. The title Rabasa: An Imaginary Map of the Useless Zone signals a study of abandoned urban landscapes, emphasizing the beauty and usefulness that can be found in overlooked places.
The photographic installation forms the core of the initiative. Another strand shifts into a different mode with a multimedia approach that blends images from disparate times and origins. The work traverses locations both near and distant, blending reality with imagined worlds to blur the line between what is seen and what is remembered. The project probes memory, nature, and the capacity of images to carry multiple narratives, inviting viewers to imagine anew what can be observed with both the eye and the mind.
The research on objects and the creation of myths also figure prominently in the program. The broader inquiry examines unusual natural phenomena and documents such as photographs, audiovisual materials, engravings, and large format typewritten papers. The artist argues that an object is a container of infinite meanings, and the project examines how transmission channels reshape images and how myths arise from things that are not immediately perceived or sensed.
The exploration of experimental and documentary photography, sculpture, and audiovisual methods continues with a focus on human expression and symbol. The project traces how symbolic acts in cave art may reflect early forms of communication and meaning, suggesting there are ancestral channels for representing thought that find echoes in contemporary art. It seeks to interpret how ancient signs resonate in modern practice, offering a fresh lens on how humans create and share meaning through art.
The final segment looks at graphic production through experimental drawing techniques tied to fieldwork in digital imagery. The research underpins a thesis proposal that examines interviews with workers in the visual media sector. The aim is to imagine new visual narratives shaped by social and political contexts, exploring how different images can engage audiences in meaningful dialogue about representation and experience.