With 12 years of experience, PROYECTOR has established itself as a reference festival in our country dedicated entirely to video-creation, a discipline that continues to win followers and attracts many contemporary creators inside and outside our borders. Video is, in fact, one of the most widespread means of expression in our days. The power of the image in movement is undeniable, and the public demands new artistic languages that are in tune with their habits of cultural consumption. Contemporary art has surrendered to the attraction of this complex and dynamic technique, although it still strives to carve a niche among the traditional disciplines in the most consolidated exhibition circuits. For this reason, PROYECTOR was born, to give voice to so many authors who have found in video-art an ideal channel to hold their creative projects.

PROYECTOR aspires to offer a real vision of the international cultural fabric and the most recent contemporary trends around this speciality, with an ambitious program of activities held in different parts of the capital. Since it was first launched, this initiative has also wanted to be known abroad, and every year, the participation of international authors increases. From Japan to Argentina, passing through Israel, Austria, Brazil or the United States, to name just a few of them, the representation of foreign creators reveals the enormous interest that exists in the sphere of contemporary production in this discipline, which this way becomes a formal vehicle of an expressive language shared worldwide.

The next edition will take place from September 11th to 22nd, 2019 in a packed schedule of events that will bring together more than 50 artists in 14 different venues in Madrid. As every year, the program will host the invited artists along with those selected in the call for projects opened a few months ago and in which more than 400 artists from around 20 countries participated. The result is a rich panorama of the most up-to-date video-creation that opens its doors to the whole world, in the path traced by PROYECTOR since its beginnings: to bring art closer to the general public and pay attention to its experimental and committed nature around which the most critical and reflexive artistic discourses are currently built up.

Març Rabal, “Les eines i els dies” (frame)

In addition to the usual talks, projection cycles and workshops, the 12th edition of PROYECTOR will also host several site-specific projects created for the festival thanks to the program of artistic residences carried out in collaboration with Conde Duque, The Instant Foundation, Medialab Prado and Extension AVAM. Another novelty is the participation of the INELCOM Collection, which will open its doors to publicise its impressive funds dedicated to video-creation and technological art, as well as the "endorsements" where renowned international professionals will curate the artistic proposals coming from Europe and Asia. Also, we must highlight the award that the collector Teresa Sapey has granted to Març Rabal, to be delivered during the festival, and whose video-installation work will be on show in September.

Julieta Caputo y Ariel Uzal, “Un derrumble posible” (frame)

PROYECTOR 2019 promises to surprise everybody with its novelties. We look forward to the arrival of this essential event that for 12 days will conquer major spaces of the city, such as CA2M Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, INELCOM Collection, Conde Duque, Cruce, El Instante Fundación, AVAM Extension, Cervantes Institute, Medialab Prado, Quinta del Sordo, Room Alcalá 31, Room Equis, Room The Eagle, Secuencia de Inútiles and Plaza Pública.

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.