The "la Caixa" Foundation is promoting 19 artistic projects in response to the social needs arising from the pandemic

The "la Caixa" Foundation has allocated 416,250 euros to 19 new projects from all over Spain selected in the annual call for proposals launched by Art for Change "la Caixa". This initiative grants support to artistic projects in disciplines such as the plastic arts, photography, video, music, literature and arts that promote the active role of groups in situations of vulnerability.  

Due to the pandemic, the iniciative becomes even more meaningful this year, as Gloria Andreu, head of Art for Change "la Caixa", says: "The pandemic is having a very strong impact on vulnerable groups and that is why we decided to keep the call for applications open. On the one hand, we have extended the deadline for submitting projects and, above all, we have increased the budget in order to help as many projects as possible".

Invisible Caregivers, Marta Fernandez Calvo - Madrid

Project aimed at non-professional caregivers of people with degenerative diseases in the district of Carabanchel in Madrid. Objective: to make visible, to build identity, community and new emotional and spatial relationships; to build a navigation guide of the domestic space from the caregiving figure. The multidisciplinary proposal will work through sound, body, architecture and voice and will be conveyed through a virtual cooking workshop where participants will share a recipe containing a story related to the person they are caring for.  

All initiatives have been presented under the same conditions as in previous years, which means that participants will be required to attend the workshop if the context allows it. Projects to start in January 2021.  

In the 2020 edition, nearly 300 proposals have been submitted by artists and cultural organisations from all over Spain. Of these, 19 projects have been selected and have passed a first artistic evaluation and a second technical-social evaluation. These will be carried out in Barcelona, Madrid, Asturias, Gipuzkoa, Salamanca, Valencia, Seville, Córdoba and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. More than 1,200 people in vulnerable situations will be participating and will have the opportunity to take an active part in a process of artistic creation.  

The creation of a visual theatre performance piece with intellectually disabled people, focusing on the concept of the value of friendship to respond to expressive and emotional needs and to open up spaces for dialogue. The aim is to give them a voice and work through shadow theatre, the technique of the Bunraku puppet, experiments with sound and music design.  

All 19 projects have been chosen as they meet the three objectives of the programme: the promotion of the participant's personal development through their involvement in a creative process; social cohesion and inclusion through the creation of neutral spaces for relationships, exchange and coexistence; and social regeneration of a community nature through activities that contribute to the development of neighbourhoods or social groups and to the strengthening of concepts such as identity and self-confidence.  

Examples of projects that help to alleviate the problems caused by the coronavirus include 'Reflexa't', by artist Roger La Puente, a photography workshop for homeless people in Barcelona who are highly affected by confinement, which aims to strengthen their identity and self-esteem.  

On the other hand, 'Las paredes tienen memoria', a project from Badalona aimed at older people at risk of social isolation. They will be connected to the urban space by means of tiles based on their memories: through walks, narrative and painting workshops, and translating the messages on the tiles. Author Stefanía Vara is a photographer, a ceramist and a nurse.  

Art. A way to help us understand reality, as well as a way to transform it. 

The "la Caixa" Foundation has been a pioneer in the search for new ways of understanding culture. Exhibitions are a meeting point for different types of public and the activities involve people from various backgrounds and of all ages who take the initiative and play an active role. These are initiatives in which the public and the creators work together to give meaning to art. This vocation gave rise to Art for Change in 2007, a programme that combines artistic creation and personal and social transformation, which encourages participation in creative processes involving any artistic discipline to promote collaboration and the inclusion of all, and which is respectful of diversity and open to learning and listening to society.  

Through Art for Change "la Caixa", creative processes led by an artist are generated, in which groups in a situation of vulnerability or people from the same environment or neighbourhood participate with the aim of favouring processes of social transformation. By promoting these initiatives, participants are offered the opportunity to come into contact with art and culture, promoting equal conditions and opportunities and contributing to the empowerment of individuals or groups through an artistic process.