Joan Etorriak program presents an exhibition featuring 8 international artists

The work and creative processes of the artists participating on the international project Joan Etorriak will be exhibited from December 9th at Tabakalera, International Centre for Contemporary Culture (San Sebastian). This exchange-based program co-organized by San Sebastian 2016 Foundation, Etxepare Basque Institute and Donostia Kultura aims to foster mobility and intercultural dialogue.

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The work and creative processes of the artists participating on the international project Joan Etorriak will be exhibited from December 9th at Tabakalera, International Centre for Contemporary Culture (San Sebastian). This exchange-based program co-organized by San Sebastian 2016 Foundation, Etxepare Basque Institute and Donostia Kultura aims to foster mobility and intercultural dialogue.

This year, the third edition of the program, 10 artists carried out artistic residencies. Four Basque artists went abroad and six international artists have visited the Basque Country. An exhibition featuring the work and creative processes of eight of them will be opened the 9th December, at 19:00 on the second floor of Tabakalera.

All the artistic projects were conceived on their places of origin but developed in the host cities. That’s why mediation has been central in each of the creative processes. In San Sebastian, artists had the collaboration of local actors such as Espacio Reflex, Undermount, Bertsozale Elkartea, ESCIVI, etc.

Elssie Ansareo, Aitor Gametxo, Mario Paniego y Diego Vivanco are the Basque artists that worked in other countries. Ansareo worked in an artists community called Locatie Spatie, in Arhem (Nederland). Gametxo made an essay about communication through movement in Wroclaw (Poland). In the same city, Vivanco registered his work as electrician and upholsterer, and Paniego, who made his residence in Rijeka (Croatia) developed a project called Common Places, in which he tried to rise awareness on the inmigration issue.

Hanna Ilczyszy (Poland), Gabriela Kowalska (Poland), Jakub Szafranski (Poland), Nika Rukavina (Croatia) y Turbo&Diesel collective (Nederland) are the artists who carried out their residences in the Basque Country. Based on Basque and Slavic mythology, Ilczyszy made a series of seven paintings. Kowalska merged design and sociology, and Rukavina focused on cultural initiatives asking whether they are a useful or not for understanding and coexistence amongst people living in Europe. Szafranski, without speaking a single word of Euskara (Basque language) deepened on bertsolaritza (Basque improvised verse-singing) to show us his experiences with this art. The work made by Turbo&Diesel collective is not on the exhibition due to timing problems. Those two artists from Nederland tackled the issue “whose is the city”.

Including this year, a total of 22 artists have participated so far in Joan Etorriak program.