What are your main responsibilities in your current role?
My main responsibility is to programme each season and define the content developed within the institution, under the framework of Contemporánea Condeduque. I am responsible for the programming of the Vaults Hall, the South Courtyard and the Multipurpose Hall, and I am tasked with developing a specific curatorial project for each season. The number of exhibitions varies annually and includes in-house productions, co-productions and commissioned works, complemented by public programmes.
Six years ago, the management of the centre was taken over by Natalia Álvarez Simó, who worked with different advisors by area. In the field of visual arts, Javier Martín-Jiménez held the position for four years and, after his departure, I was offered the role.
When I took on the position, I encountered several challenges related to the use of the space, particularly a repetition of formulas and a lack of cohesion in the programme. For this reason, my approach was to strengthen co-productions and move away from group exhibitions. I am now in my second season: during the first, we hosted an exhibition from TEA Tenerife, and in the second, one from CEGAC. The first in-house production was the exhibition by Fuentesal Arenillas together with Itziar Okariz, as well as Andrea Canepa’s piece in the courtyard. The season closed with a solo video exhibition by Jonathan Andrade.
At present, I curate the spaces and invite other curators to collaborate through the writing of texts. As part of this work, we are producing A5-format publications with texts distributed free of charge.
We also collaborate with a mediation and engagement laboratory. Last year we launched the programme The Artists and Their Word, coordinated by Rafael Barber, which was later adapted into a podcast format. For this project, the Círculo de Bellas Artes provided us with its recording studio.
I also continue to work on other projects where I develop my research. Right now, I would highlight the exhibitions that stem from my research on how, through artistic practice, we reflect on the systemic and pervasive violence of the Franco regime and how it affects us in society today. The first is “Resistance. The Power of the Image,” co-curated with Sam Steverlynck at S.M.A.K. as part of Europalia; “Rumor Honco. Preguntas para futuros posibles” (Hoarse Rumor. Questions for Possible Futures), part of the “50 Years in Freedom” commission, which will open at Tabacalera; and the solo exhibition by the artist Nicolás Combarro, “Mirar a otro lado” (Looking the Other Way), at the University of Navarra Museum. As you can see, there are many collaborative projects and works that emerge from my independent practice.
What has been your professional journey to where you are today, and what were the biggest challenges you faced?
I am an art historian (Complutense University of Madrid) and completed a master’s degree at the Ortega y Gasset Institute, specialising in cultural management, heritage and tourism. After finishing the master’s programme, I remained closely linked to foundations and communication teams, and in that context I was invited to coordinate masdearte.commagazine.
Later, for personal reasons, I moved to Chile, where I began collaborating with different foundations. There, I had my first experience coordinating an exhibition, which marked the beginning of my work in organising and coordinating exhibition projects.
I then moved to Brazil and, due to circumstances, started working in a contemporary art gallery. I joined Galeria Baró from its very beginnings and eventually became its director. This was a key period, as it allowed me to work directly with artists, something that profoundly transformed my way of working. After leaving the gallery, I began working as an independent curator.
At that time, Pivô was created, a project for which five people were invited to participate in its launch. I spent several years involved in its development, a very rewarding experience in which we secured local support and learned how to inhabit the space, always working closely with artists.
During my time in Brazil, where I began my doctoral thesis, I started planning my return to Spain. In that process, I was offered the directorship of LOOP in Barcelona, with the task of rethinking the fair–festival format in order to develop year-round activity. Ultimately, that project was not fully developed and I took on the direction of the fair for one year.
I later applied for the Rome Scholarship, as I had begun a line of research focused on the precariousness of artists. The grant was awarded, and I spent a year there, in the months prior to the pandemic. My intention was to observe what was happening outside, with Madrid as my main point of reference. After that period, I returned to Spain, settled there, inaugurated Almudena Lobera’s exhibition at Tabacalera, began collaborating with various institutions and also started working at Escuela SUR.
How do you stay inspired and up to date in a constantly evolving field? What platforms do you use to stay informed?
I try to attend as many exhibitions as possible, although I have increasingly less time. I speak a great deal with artists and particularly value it when artists recommend other artists to me. I also place great importance on collaboration with other institutions, for example through juries, as this allows you to discover profiles you might not otherwise encounter. It is essential to know who is applying for different calls and to follow those processes.
Teaching is another key area, as giving classes allows me to meet many people and identify emerging trajectories. In terms of reading, I mainly read essays. I am also subscribed to various specialised platforms and publications such as Arteinformado, Artforum, Frieze and several Spanish cultural media outlets.
What skills or qualities do you consider fundamental to your success in the cultural sector?
There is one fundamental aspect for me: you really have to love the art world. At the time, having a very good memory and a strong capacity for making connections—both with people and with information—helped me greatly, allowing me to keep many fronts open at the same time and relate them to one another.
In addition, I enjoy writing and continue to be asked to do so, which suggests that I must be doing it reasonably well.
What advice would you give to someone starting their career in the cultural world?
Not having prejudices and being open to any kind of stimulus is essential. There is also a piece of advice I was given that I consider fundamental. I took an ICI course with José Roca as my tutor; I met him in Brazil and he told me: “there are many ways of doing things—surround yourself with people who want to do things your way.” This advice also implies moving away from the idea that there is only one type of art.