In the program #ART&EDUCATIONAM18, thanks to the collaboration of independent, public and private agents, artists, cultural mediators and professionals, we will try to shed light on concepts such as artistic activism and pedagogy, art as a space for experiences and education in the margin of the academic. Do not miss February, our month of art.

YOU

Art as a tool for life, creative processes as a resource for resolving conflicts, educating in art, educating with art, educational art and artistic education... The relationship between art and education has infinite possibilities and each one of the perspectives they are resolved in new questions open to research and experimentation. You can learn life through art, you must learn to look in another way from art, to see beyond the obvious and to pose other possible realities ... The art fair Art Madrid, involved in previous years with the issues of genre within art or with technological art, this time focuses its Program Parallel Activities in ART AND EDUCATION. "I do not want art for a few, in the same way that I do not want education for a few or freedom for a few", defended it by William Morris and we defend it from Art Madrid, open access to art, artistic spaces as places of learning and experiences and art as a tool for social transformation. From Art Madrid we want to question and rethink the relationship between art, education and society, anticipating the possibility that they are nothing but synonyms, facets of the same crystal, beams of light that converge in a single point, a nodule of Renewing energy.

La Quinta del Sordo

In this edition, for #ArtandEducation AM18 we have La Quinta del Sordo as a collaborating space, much more than a co-working, it is a space in which we will develop the talks and presentations (and some other surprise) of our program. La Quinta team will present its TANDEM course, dedicated to the development of cultural projects by artists and cultural managers. (Thursday, February 1, 7:30 pm: La Quinta del Sordo, c / del Rosario, 15. Madrid)

Among the ROUND TABLES AND LECTURES we highlight the one by Pedagogías Invisibles, platform that generates educational proposals around contemporary art as a way to create knowledge, community and transformation. For them, the unexpected, the conflict, the questioning of oneself and critical and divergent thinking are tools that they use for learning. (Thursday, February 8, 7:30 p.m. in La Quinta del Sordo, c / del Rosario, 15. Madrid)

We also have the Plena Inclusión Foundation and Repsol Foundation and their residencies program Espacio Convergente (within the Más Cultura Más Inclusión program) in which 3 artists live and work with the boys and girls of the foundation, sharing experiences and demonstrating that art it is an essential element of construction and social inclusion. In his talk will participate the artists María Bueno and Bilal Dadou, Ana Lozano Fernández, coordinator of More Culture More Inclusion, the moderator will be Graciela García, curator and expert in outsider art. (Thursday, February 15, 7:30 p.m. in La Quinta del Sordo, c / del Rosario, 15. Madrid).

Pedagogías Invisibles

The Platform Veo Arte en todas pArtes proposes a round table about the experiences of artists who are dedicated to academic artistic training. Participate Marta Pérez Ibáñez (Univ. De Nebrija), Rufino Ferreras (EducaThyssen.org) and the artists Jose Antonio Vallejo and Carmen Hidalgo. (Thursday, February 22, 7:00 p.m.)

In the section of WORKSHOPS, #ArtandEducationAM18 takes into account all kind of publics. With the VEGA school team, associated with Espositivo Academy, we will organize the workshop for adults Press INTRO to see what happens, directed to all those who want to hear about happening and be part of one. A workshop with the top teachers of Madrid, the artists Pablo Durango, Ignacio Tejedor and the collective Somos Nosotros. Fun is assured. (Saturday, February 10, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm Info and registration in: hola@espositivo.es).

Escuela Vega y Espositivo

For kids we have the experience and creative madness of the Taller del Hombre Rayo, a place where we will enjoy drawing, painting, building, investigating our creative and intuitive thinking to produce something authentic, genuine and original. (Saturday February 17, 11: 00. Info and registration in: anamusma@yahoo.es).

It is important to educate the eyes, how we look, how to see arts and, for this, we include 2 GUIDED VISITS TO EXHIBITIONS. The 1st to the exhibition "MIRADAS AUSENTES, GESTOS PRESENTES. An approach to contemporary art in the CA2M Collection" at the Pérez de la Riva Cultural Center (Las Rozas, Madrid). We have a bus -thanks to the RedItiner of the Community of Madrid - (Saturday, February 10, 10: 45h-13: 45h.)

The 2nd visit is inside the very heart of creativity, the atelier of the artist Okuda San Miguel who will tell us about his creative process, his way of working and will present us to the team that always accompanies him, Ink and Movement. (Tuesday, February 13, 7:00 p.m.)

Interior of the atelier of Okuda San Miguel

There will be many things, meetings and much surprise, so organize you February agenda because #ArtandEducation AM18 will surprise you. With this cycle we propose you to be active builders of our culture and not mere spectators.

Buying the first work of art always instils respect. A difficult feeling to define that mixes vertigo with adrenaline. But over uncertainty and caution, a pleasurable sense of connection, understanding, and desire prevails. That work that, once seen, stays in the mind, reappears in the memory several times a day and seems to tell you that it is willing to be part of your home, is the perfect candidate to make the decision.

In the first steps, many collectors do point out that one does not start from an established plan, but rather that one acquires pieces based on taste and the connection one feels with them until, after time, they realise that the volume of works that accumulates can be labelled as a "collection". For example, this is how Alicia Aza explains it:

“I was not aware that I was collecting until many years later when a third party named me as a collector and talked about my collection. In 2005, I became aware of what collecting means and decided to articulate a collection with an identity of criteria and formats”.

Marcos Martín Blanco, co-founder, with his wife Elena Rueda, of the MER Collection, shares this same opinion:

“Collecting has been a passion, driven by a visceral state that encourages you to do so. The collection, in terms of acquisitions, has not been particularly complicated because, let's face it: it is easy to buy because they are all beautiful things and you have some clear idea of where you want to go, but at first those preferences were not so clear. It is with the time that a criterion is being formed”.

It is not always this way, of course, but for the buyer who starts out on this path, the personal connection that entails the first piece is essential. There it is the germ of a lasting relationship that is not limited to a simple aesthetic question but is an open window to knowledge, to exploration, to a world that is often unknown to us and awakens our fascination. The seed of that connection is purely sentimental, and it is precisely this impulse that determines the first acquisitions. The first piece is never forgotten.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Ana Maqueda

Exceeding the usual recommendations made by advisers and agents, rare is the occasion when the art lover decides to buy by pure investment. These paths usually open later, when the volume of pieces is large enough. In addition, there are those who are a bit against this classic concept of the traditional collector, approached from an eccentric, elitist and little accessible vision. On the contrary, art buyers are, above all, art lovers, sentient beings and permeable to creative stimulus who, at a given moment, decide to deepen the relationship they already have with art to take a piece home.

It is not that hard to overcome that small psychological barrier that turns the visitor into a buyer if one approaches the matter from a more personal and intimate perspective than from social consideration. Small-format works, graphic work or serial photography are of great help for this, whose price range, generally more affordable, allows a closer comparison to the daily basis expenses. In this way, the purchase of art falls within the range of feasible activities and becomes something close and possible.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Marc Cisneros

At that moment, a different relationship with art begins, based on pure experience and coexistence with the acquired piece. Perhaps it can be seen as an act of daring, but on many occasions, it is more a matter of necessity and transformation. Collectors also agree that the acquisition of an artwork is an exercise on personal analysis and opening up to a new field of knowledge that was previously alien to us. Alicia Aza explains that the reason she acquired her first piece of video art, by Sergio Prego, is because she did not understand it and because she saw it as a challenge and an opportunity to self-improve. This open window to knowledge creates new connections and bonds with creators, as one of the most fascinating parts of the process. Candela Álvarez Soldevilla explains that

"I think the most interesting thing in the art world is talking to artists. They are people with a special sensitivity to listen and understand.”

And Alicia Aza also says:

"I can share the satisfaction of being able to count on many artists in my circle of close friends today, and that is a long way to go."

Thus, with works that seem acceptable within the horizon of expenses that each one considers affordable, it is easy to find a piece that catches us. Since then, our home also evolves into a space in which art has a permanent place and presence, and there is no doubt that this transforms us inside.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Henar Herguera

Jaime Sordo, owner of Los Bragales collection and founder of the 9915 Contemporary Art Collectors Association, has always defined his relationship with art as a true passion and a vital necessity. For buyers who start on this path, he has the following recommendation:

“It is an essential condition that they feel the need to live with their passion to enjoy the works. Another very important aspect is that before making decisions for purchases, they are informed, so it is necessary to read specialised newspapers and books, visit exhibitions and museums and a lot of contact with galleries, which is an important and very specific source of information of the artists they represent. Finally, the presence in national and international art fairs. All this generates information and training.”

Indeed, fairs have become a good place for discovery because they condense a wide offer and allow diverse and global contact in a concentrated way. For this reason, many new generation buyers start in the context of an event such as Art Madrid, whose closeness and quality constitute a unique opportunity to meet, soak up and feed the passion for art.

(*) quotes taken from various interviews published in public media between 2013 and 2019.