Exhibition brings Valencian contemporary art to Santa Pola
Eleven artists from the Valencian Community, spanning multiple generations and employing diverse techniques and styles, contribute to a special space dedicated to memory. The exhibition, part of Contemporary Art of the Generalitat Valenciana, is presented at the Santa Pola Sea Museum and will be accessible through September 10. It showcases how individual and collective identities can be shaped by concepts of space, home, and memory.
The Consortium of Museums is represented by its Director, José Luis Pérez Pont, alongside Nelly Baile, and Maria Jose Cerda-Bertomeu, Cultural Advisor to the Santa Pola City Council and Director of the local Maritime Museum. They introduced this exhibition as a product of a cooperation agreement between the Consortium of Museums and the Santa Pola City Council for 2023.
The exhibition curates several works acquired by the Department of Education, Culture and Sport for the Generalitat Valenciana’s Contemporary Art collection. It is designed specifically for presentation at the Museo del Mar, created in close collaboration with Santa Pola City Hall. The show reflects the role of everyday spaces in forming identity and highlights works that are part of the contemporary art acquisition program launched by the Generalitat Valenciana in 2017. The collection is notable for its generational and regional diversity, a commitment to gender equality, and thematic richness that mirror the realities of today’s society and era [citation: Generalitat Valenciana].
related artists
For Santa Pola City Council, the Museum Consortium’s partnership with the Maritime Museum offers an opportunity to introduce the most relevant artists from the community during the peak tourist season. The exhibition emphasizes the power of personal and collective identity rooted in home, landscape, and shared heritage. The leadership of José Luis Pérez Pont and the concerted effort of the consortium team, coordinated by Lucía González for this show, are highlighted as essential factors in the project’s success [citation: Consorci de Museus].
In this context, the works produced by the Museum Consortium reflect a sense of pride in Valencian experimental art and culture. The aim is to spur thinking beyond mere entertainment and to open doors for future initiatives that structure the region’s exhibition offerings from the south [citation: Consorci de Museus].
exhibition content
Visitors can view pieces such as Identity Lost on the Hydraulic Floor and Identification, linked to Alexander Casanova; Freedom-related works by Alejandro Manas; Sleechman Chronobiology by Amanda Moreno; Scenarios of Memory: The Logic of an Obsession by Carolina Ferrer; Unwarranted by Elena Martí; Dolmen, Lament by Jorge Peris; Home and the Will to Resist by Maribel Domenech; Memory of Stones by Nuria Riaza; He Memorized the Songs by Paloma Navares; Word Bag by Teresa Cebrián and Cola Juice. Exit by Susana Guerrero forms part of the program’s narrative [citation: Valencia Contemporary Art Collection].
As part of the exhibition, the Consorci de Museus and the Museo del Mar will host two free-entry events. On Saturday, July 15, at 13:00, a voice-over performance will accompany an experimental workshop led by Sonia Megias. On Thursday, July 20, between 19:00 and 21:00, at the Fortaleza Castle, a participatory workshop titled Art, Webs and Webs will involve artists Maribel Domènech and Susana Guerrero, in collaboration with local women networks and the Santa Pola public, creating an installation with nets donated by the Tambores company from Santapolera [citation: Santa Pola Cultural Office].
Contemporary art of the Generalitat Valenciana
In 2017, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports launched an Incentive Plan for Valencia’s artistic heritage. The plan aimed to purchase artworks to stimulate the contemporary art market while assembling a representative set of works that reflect the state of artistic creation in the Valencian Community. Since then, the Generalitat Valenciana has acquired 129 works valued at 1.7 million euros, supporting artists who were born or reside in the Valencian Community, while building archives and publications that document the collection’s evolution and conservation.
The contemporary art collection from the Generalitat Valenciana gathers works from different generations and artistic trajectories, offering a faithful reflection of the region’s creativity and dynamism. Through the Consorci de Museus, a permanent exhibition of the collection has been developed, including traveling showcases that bring the works to diverse audiences [citation: Generalitat Valenciana].