Ábalos assures that Las Naves de Gamazo will be a cultural landmark in Santander open to the public
The Minister of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, José Luis Ábalos, assured that turning the Naves de Gamazo into the new home of the ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art has converted the facility into a centre that seeks to become a landmark in the city that is open to both residents and visitors alike.
Ábalos held a meeting beforehand with the President of the Region of Cantabria, Miguel Ángel Revilla, whom he thanked for his warmth, while acknowledging the work undertaken since the previous meeting and his willingness to continue making progress together toward the Ministry's agenda in Cantabria.
The minister recalled, during the opening ceremony for this new space, that the agreement that made it possible for the Naves de Gamazo to become the new home of the Enaire Foundation's Collection of Contemporary Art, for a term of 20 years, renewable for five-year periods up to a maximum of 50 years, was signed in 2020.
The Minister noted that the remodelling, which took two years, requires an investment of 2,159,000 euros and restored the oldest and largest structure, dating from 1908, and modernized the one from 1950.
This activity was carried out as part of the 1.5% Cultural Programme and, as the minister stated, embodies the spirit of this Programme and all the other mechanisms that MITMA uses to invest in the restoration and preservation of our country's heritage. This is a public service that all Administrations have to provide, because it satisfies the fundamental right of present and future generations to enjoy our legacy.
Ábalos noted that the Naves de Gamazo will also be environmentally friendly, since the primary source of energy for the buildings is geothermal. Six, 100-metre water pipe boreholes, a geothermal heat pump and a natural gas condensing boiler are used to maintain the strict temperature and humidity conditions required by the pieces that are on display here.
The minister assured that, due to its location, this complex will be one of the city's leading landmarks, enhancing the cultural offerings of both the city and the entire region.
Turning the Naves de Gamazo into the new home of the ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art has converted the facility into a centre that seeks to become a landmark in the city
Santander will engage in an intense cultural dialogue with Madrid, which will house the other site of the ENAIRE collection in the Arqueria de los Nuevos Ministerios, a space that has been hosting numerous exhibits for 35 years, and which Ábalos said is in the final stages of remodelling.
Ábalos wanted to underscore three actions that will have an impact on the cultural attractions of Santander, and which are in different phases of approval by the City Council:
- The comprehensive restoration of the Menéndez Pelayo Library, which houses the writer's legacy and is of enormous historical value.
- The extension of the Museum of Modern Art and the corresponding renovation of the surrounding public area. Work will be done on over 5,500 square metres to increase the exhibit spaces and incorporate new complementary uses, which will require a change to the General Urban Development Plan.
- The location in the Cortiguera Palace of the facilities of the Santander Creativa Foundation and museum spaces and an interpretation centre for the city as part o a project bubgetet at over one million euros.
Firm commitment to historical heritage
This new centre, spanning almost one thousand square metres, was made possible by an investment of 2,159,000 euros from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda pursuant to the Historical Heritage act, which lays out the obligation to allocate 1.5% of the amount set forth in public works contracts to preserve and enrich Spanish Historical Heritage or to promote artistic creativity.
The opening of this new cultural facility was made possible thanks to the agreement by the Government of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria and the Port Authority of Santander to equitably share the financing of the operating expenses of the Naves de Gamazo. This will ensure the current and future sustainability of this project, which will help to enrich the cultural activity and leisure opportunities of Santander and the entire region.
As a result, MITMA, through the ENAIRE Foundation, will be responsible for managing, planning and arranging three annual exhibits. For its part, the Government of Cantabria will handle the annual schedule of educational activities, as well as the staffing and security of the new centre, while the Port Authority of Santander will oversee the maintenance of the building. The collaboration between these three institutions will cover the total operating expenses, which are estimated at 600,000 euros a year.
The agreement to transfer the use of the Naves de Gamazo from the Santander Port Authority to the ENAIRE Foundation lays out a period of 20 years, renewable for successive five-year periods up to a maximum of 50 years.
Cultural activities in the Naves Gamazo
The Naves de Gamazo were created with a focus on education and engagement with society. Its goals include disseminating an understanding of contemporary artistic expression and contributing to the training and education of new audiences in the field the art of the 20th century and today.
The programme of the Naves de Gamazo will include exhibits, guided tours, meetings with artists, workshops and other supplementary activities, all in an effort to bring contemporary art closer to the public and spread aeronautical culture.
Admission to the Centre, and to all the activities it hosts, is free.
Starting tomorrow, 2 July, this jewel of 19th-century Cantabrian industrial architecture, converted into an art centre by the Fernández-Abascal & Muruzábal architecture studio and GFA2, will open its doors to the public with "Contemporary Territory: Diverse languages in the ENAIRE Collection", an exhibit curated by Maria de Corral - former director of the Reina Sofía Museum - and Lorena Martínez de Corral, who have selected some of the most important works from the Collection for this surprising narrative exhibit.
ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art
The ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art consists of almost 1,300 works of art from the most important artistic disciplines of the last six decades. The collection, worth over 50 million euros, according to the most recent appraisal, includes works by renowned artists such as Miquel Barceló, Eduardo Arroyo, Soledad Sevilla, Juan Genovés, Cristina Iglesias, Santiago Sierra, Eva Lootz, Antoni Tàpies and Joan Miró, as well as by prominent rising stars like Irene Cruz, Raúl Urbina, Lola Guerrera, Rosell Meseguer and Rubén Acosta, and others.
Until today, most of these works were on display mainly in Spanish airports, as well as in institutional areas of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, and ENAIRE. With the opening of the Naves de Gamazo, one of the rooms will be dedicated to a permanent exhibit, meaning the ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art can be viewed on a rotating basis, since the works will change every so often.
Inaugural exhibit
The paintings, sculptures, photographs, engravings and videos selected for the exhibit attempt to provide an overview of the art created over the last seventy years. The exhibit starts with works by artists who work in informal matterism, and continues with a new way of defining and interpreting the abstraction of the 1980s, and extends to the 2000s, represented mainly through photographs that showcase the significance of this artistic discipline within the ENAIRE Collection.
The curators have tried to highlight certain moments of art history, but especially wanted to reflect the spirit, standards and ideas of the ENAIRE Foundation. A digital catalogue has been created with all the pieces that are part of the inaugural exhibit and their corresponding cards.
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