The contemporary cultural hub at Las Cigarreras in Alicante is set to host a handful of creative residences this year, with a selective group chosen from more than 200 proposals submitted from across Spain and abroad. The first cohort has already begun, with others slated to start in April and September within the Las Cigarreras complex in the San Antón district.
The initiative marks the launch of the first artistic and creative housing program in this region, developed by the Ministry of Culture. The scheme, titled Land Creative Residences, carries a budget of 190,000 euros and was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Feder-Edusi Alicante program for the Las Cigarreras area.
The program supports four disciplines: photography, visual arts, experimental electronic music, and audiovisual works. Proposals from these fields are already taking shape, with two photography projects and one landscape project underway at this stage.
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Alicante based artist Caroline Diego has earned recognition through the PhotoAlicante Master competition, securing a spot in the photography track. The work titled nature is dead offers a critical inquiry into contemporary relationships with food, aiming to spark a moral, ethical, and scientific discussion about what people will eat for future generations.
Antonio Guerra, born in Zamora in 1983, published the 2022 book The Light That Blinds Us and collaborates with Dalpine and Kursala publishing houses. His photography project explores the evolving dialogue around the geological history of Alicante Province, traditional mining practices, and new interpretations of the contemporary landscape that connect technology, waste, and the environment.
Abel Jaramillo with a Small vocabulary for a big secret and Marina Bobo with Kiss were also selected for the photography track, joining the cohort that begins its residency in September. The support structure behind this call, led by the collective All Good, accompanies each artist with financial backing amounting to 5,050 euros per person through stipends and fees.
The third participant to begin the landscape-focused residency is an artist from Madrid, Inés Room. This marks the first landscape residency titled Once in a While and What Governs Fourth Volume, selected by a panel of experts from Bilbao, Madrid, and Alicante from more than twenty proposals from five countries. The award includes 6,500 euros for the resident.
Inés Cámara, who recently returned to Spain after eight years in London, will undertake a two-month residency at Las Cigarreras focusing on Benacantil. The project imagines new ways to relate to the mountain amid drought, starting from the extinction of the Pamphilla butterfly, a species that disappeared in recent years due to a lack of food in the Alicante area. The residency will include a visit across the various levels of the Benacantil landscape, considering both human and non-human inhabitants. Three public events accompany the project: a guided route, a pétanque tournament in the mountains, and a film screening in Pozos de Garrigós, spread across three Saturdays for the community to join.”