This exclusive Madrid Lager’ format of 50 cl. of Cervezas La Virgen can only be enjoyed during the celebration of Art Madrid. In addition, the winning design will receive a prize of 500 euros.

The chosen product to inspire you is one of the most acclaimed beers of La Virgen, the Madrid Lager, awarded in the last three years as best Lager style Helles of Spain in the World Beer Awards. It is the first variety that La Virgen made, the more classic and authentic, the perfect draft beer which is also available in 33cl cans since last year. As their creators explain, "the can of Madrid Lager is here to stay and you can take it anywhere" because "we love the can and the possibilities that surround it". The design has to be made for the 50 cl-format, which it is made exclusively for the fair. The only limit to your creativity will be the size of the product format: 135mm high by 204mm wide.

Although designs must be able to be reproduced in digital format for later printing, so it is preferable to present works of digital illustration or graphic design, you can work from any technique or theme. You can also work with the metallic qualities of the material because the label will be produced as a transparent vinyl, so if you leave blank spaces in your design, you will see the metallic colour in those areas. In addition, the design should visually integrate the logos of Cervezas La Virgen and Art Madrid'19, as well as the sentence "Special Edition Art Madrid'19".

If your passion is as strong as that of La Virgen's master brewers, surely you have more than one design in mind. Do not worry because each artist can submit up to 5 proposals, as long as they are unpublished. Participation is open to all kinds of creators, artists or professionals, however, do not forget that the deadline for submission is February the 10th.

View of the taprooms and La Virgen´s Fabric

The selection process is divided into two parts: first, there will be a pre-selection of 10 finalists by Art Madrid, whose designs will be published on our website, newsletter and social networks. In the second phase, open voting will be made on Instagram with the hashtag #ConcursoLaVirgenAM19, this vote will also influence the final criteria of Cervezas La Virgen. The winning design will be announced the week before the Art Madrid’19 fair.

La Virgen craft beers are made since 2011 "without tricks, without haste", entirely with natural ingredients, following the best traditional processes while incorporating the latest technology, respecting the environment and promoting responsible consumption. Always from the heart, because they are lucky to be able to do what they really like. Therefore, creativity and quality are characteristics shared by Arte Madrid and La Virgen; Join us in this remarkable experience and show us your talent.

Good luck!

Among the specialised professional profiles that we find in the cultural sector, and more specifically, in the field of visual arts, one of the most recent occupations is that of the curator. The ‘80s put attention on the role of the artist, with its innovative character and the enhancement of its figure as an essential articulator of creative proposals, while the end of the century moved the interest towards the exhibition centres themselves and their work as custodians of current production and as spaces to accommodate all proposals. The change of millennium strongly introduced in this panorama the role of the curator. Perhaps together with a social identity crisis, perhaps with the complexity that contemporary projects are currently acquiring, the need for building, articulating and delving into artistic discourses became evident.

Although the functions entrusted to this profession are not entirely new, since previously they belonged to conservatives, critics or experts according to the themes, the role has gained solidity because it combines all these purposes while allowing the specialisation of other professionals in their fields of competence. Now, as some curators themselves point out, the genuine spirit of this figure, who was born to facilitate the understanding of the discourse, create narratives within a sometimes chaotic and scattered context, mediate between the works and the spectator and create bridges between contemporary art and society.

The art of our day raises a multitude of unknowns for the visitor who must face proposals many times away from the aesthetic standards, which gives way to uncertainty and confusion; but, in turn, these works employ a closer language, materials and even compositions detached from the sophistication and the technical display of yesteryear, something that, far from favouring proximity to the message, generates some distancing. What we have just described is part of the very essence of current art. The questioning of the formalist guidelines and the recourse to tangible elements that are more utilitarian than embellishing are the new criteria of creation, where, above all, the message to be conveyed stands out.

Likewise, another inherent characteristic of the work of our time is the artists' concern for more immediate themes, for social, political and economic issues that seek to create a narrative and conceptual revulsion, leaving behind the aesthetic priority or, rather, making of the message its own aesthetic. In this context, strange as it may seem, contemporary creation encounters a linguistic barrier hindering the viewer's understanding. And to this circumstance, the abundant current production is added, covering a wide range of themes that are nothing more than a transcript of our diverse and globalised society.

The curator helps to facilitate this understanding by articulating a coherent discourse that allows the grouping of related ideas to set up the message. This requires to have an in-depth knowledge of the current state of the art, the lines of work of the creators, the most recent aesthetic proposals and the real demands of society to bridge the dialogue and allow the approach to art. If art deals with the same issues that concern us all, how can we not share its postulates? Cultural mediation requires the work of the curators to open a small window for reflection and to enable a space for exchange and idea generation. We share the thought that José Guirao expressed in a recent interview: "The curator is someone who reveals something new, and it would be a mistake for curators to become managers."

Understood this way curator’s role, many institutions have joined the trend of creating specific calls for new professionals to give light to their proposals. Let us remember, as an example, the call "Unpublished" of La Casa Encendida, or "Curator wanted", of the Community of Madrid or the call of Curating of La Caixa.