Over 13,000 people visited the ENAIRE Foundation's Naves de Gamazo in Santander to take part in the activities marking its third anniversary

This summer, the ENAIRE Foundation celebrated its third anniversary in charge of the Naves de Gamazo in Santander, with a full schedule that drew large audiences. In July and August alone, more than 13,000 people visited the museum centre to enjoy its commemorative cultural exhibitions and activities.

The packed schedule began with a salute to María Blanchard, and concluded with a tribute to José Cobo, who are both artists from Santander. The Foundation's Managing Director, Margarita Asuar, stated that "to connect with a city, it is essential to acknowledge local artists and elevate them as cultural icons".

One of the most influential cultural initiatives launched by the ENAIRE Foundation was the interactive activity The red tree of Gamazo, which managed to attract new participants. The ENAIRE Foundation announced this contest on 6 August to find the best images of Santander. In total, 59 photographs were received from 21 participants during the 21-day period for submitting proposals. 

Rebeca Flores won first prize with an image of the Los raqueros de Santander sculpture that reveals an exquisite artistic sensibility. José Cobo Calderón, who created this emblematic sculpture in the Cantabrian capital, was tasked with presenting the award to the young woman, who is just seventeen. This also resulted in an emotional homage to Cobo, one of the most renowned sculptors from Santander in today's artistic landscape.  

[Rebeca Flores, TuSantander]

The second prize went to Guillermo Quintana, who submitted a photograph of the Magdalena Peninsula taken with a drone from a unique, spectacular and beautiful perspective. 

[Guillermo Quintana, Península y palacio de la Magdalena] 

And Javier Gómez received third prize for a sepia image of a moving bicycle that reflects the moving photography slogan of the current edition of PHotoEspaña, which is coming to Santander and the Naves de Gamazo on 12 September. 

[Javier Gómez, ST]

Continuation of the interactive activities

The government representative in Cantabria, Eugenia Gómez de Diego, underscored the quality of all the photographs submitted and thanked the ENAIRE Foundation for its commitment to artistic outreach and the cultural invigoration it is providing through its book presentations, conferences and interactive activities. Asuar announced that The red tree of Gamazo will continue with new themes and different artistic techniques to create multiple albums that will be exhibited in the Naves de Gamazo in coming months to promote participation in art and its democratisation.

After the awards ceremony, the curator of contemporary art, Semíramis González, gave her talk titled How to be an artist and not die trying, in which she addressed the importance of professionalisation in the art sector in Spain and went over some of the main challenges facing this profession.

With this presentation, the ENAIRE Foundation completed its summer conference series, with its managing director noting “the good turnout and interest that was showcased over these past few weeks, in the conferences on both artistic and aeronautical topics, which saw their continuation in the Book satellite specialising in art and aeronautics, which the ENAIRE Foundation launched in the Naves de Gamazo and which attracted people of all ages. They were able to enjoy a different approach to art, basically by sitting down to browse and read books by the Cantabrian Sea, with a glass of flavoured water and coming in to see the art exhibitions at the Centre, breaking down the barrier that exists between the public and a museum".

[Margarita Asuar y el artista santanderino José Cobo]. 

Good turnout

The visitor count for the Naves de Gamazo from June to August was:

-June: 2,044 people, with a daily average of 128 people;  

-July: 4,320 people, with a daily average of 173; 

-august (through the 29th): 7,190 people, with a daily average of 288. 

"We are delighted with how well visitors have responded to the activities of these past few months. We are clearly committed to shining a light on the art of Santander artists, and to actively engaging with the public through our activities and, without a doubt, that is the path we want to stay on from now on to connect the ENAIRE collection of contemporary art and aeronautical culture with the public", explained the Managing Director of the ENAIRE Foundation, Margarita Asuar. 

All the information on the activities at the Naves de Gamazo is available on the ENAIRE Foundation website. Admission to the centre and participation in all the activities is free.

[Margarita Asuar y Semíramis González].

About ENAIRE Foundation

Is a cultural institution of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility that, in addition to managing, preserving and exhibiting the ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art, engages in a comprehensive annual programme of activities that focus on aeronautical art and culture. Notably, it is one of the institutions that currently provides the most support to photography through its annual prizes - which have become a benchmark for professional photographers - and by hosting exhibits.

It is the only foundation in Spain that combines the two seemingly disparate themes of art and aeronautical culture, bringing them together by undertaking a programme of activities that promote the study, research, knowledge and dissemination of aeronautical culture, integrating history and modernity to raise awareness of the world of aviation in our country.

The Naves de Gamazo are the first permanent home of the ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art, an example of collaboration between government agencies that was made possible thanks to the partnership and joint efforts of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, the Government of Cantabria, through the Office for Culture, Tourism and Sport, and the Port Authority of Santander, which share the operating expenses of the centre in order to ensure the present and future viability of this cultural project.

ENAIRE Foundation is implementing digital museum resources to boost the democratisation of art and make it accessible from anywhere in the world. These new museum resources are now available on the Foundation's website.

About ENAIRE

ENAIRE is the air navigation service provider in Spain.

As a company of the Ministry of Sustainable Transport and Mobility, it provides en route control services for all flights and overflights from five control centres in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Gran Canaria and Palma, as well as approach services to every airport in the country.

In addition, 46 airports receive communication, navigation and surveillance services from ENAIRE, which also maintains their air traffic control systems, and 21 of them, including the country's busiest airports, rely on its aerodrome air traffic control services.

ENAIRE is Europe's fourth largest air traffic manager and participates in the A6 Alliance, a coalition of air navigation providers responsible for over 80% of European air traffic, and which is seeking to modernise the air traffic management system. It is also a member of other international alliances promoting the Single European sky, such as SESAR Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, iTEC, CANSO and ICAO.

ENAIRE, as the responsible agency identified by the Ministry of Sustainable Transport and Mobility to implement the U-Space system in Spain, will, through its digital platform, provide the Common Information Services (CIS), which are essential to facilitate U-space services to drones and Urban Air Mobility in cooperation with local air traffic services, so that all types of aircraft can fly safely in the same airspace.

ENAIRE has received the highest score in Europe on the aviation safety key performance indicator for four years in a row. It has also been awarded the EFQM 600 Seal for its safe, efficient, innovative and sustainable management of air navigation services.