[2. juni 2001]

Non profit art organizations in Spain.

Faced with a situation in which art is monopolized by institutional galleries and centers, especially in Spain, under the direct influence of political power and the dominant ideology of the moment, a number of different group and individual initiatives have been busy creating a great variety of proposals some of them materialized in physical spaces which provide the conditions necessary to promoting art projects that are for the most part situated off the commercial circuit and the conventional channels for the dissemination of art. These initiatives transmit a vitality and a freedom that are the vital driving force for the free, experimental development of the contemporary visual arts, which is in its turn essential to sustaining the platform on which the new creative talents operate.

La Fabrica, from Palencia, was set up to edit and publish the magazine Matador, which appears once a year; this project was followed by Photoespaña (held for the first time in 1998), the collection of books Photobolsillo, the first volume of which was out on the streets in 1999, and the Photogaleria (opened in 1999 in Madrid). In addition to the above activities there is also a cultural information Web site (www.notodo.com) and a weekly program of events held in the old factory in Palencia itself, presenting a different up-and-coming artist each month. Among the objectives of this independent organization, which has built up a solid reputation and achieved great success with its proposals at the national and international level, are quality support for the newer forms of art, especially in photography, and the creation of innovative cultural projects. La Fabrica is one of the few independent associations that have successfully put together funding deals with public institutions and private firms without diluting their proposals. Their aims are centered on ensuring the successful reception of their projects by the target audience, and in developing effective strategies for achieving optimum levels of viability and dissemination without compromising their intentions and aesthetic ideals.

LA FABRICA: ALAMEDA 9. 28014 MADRID. TEL: 913 60 13 20. FAX: 913 60 13 22. www.lafabrica.com

ACM, based in Mataró, represents a proposal in which flexibility and mobility are the essential characteristics. The somewhat adverse circumstances of its birth, due to extreme financial precariousness, have made this collective a vital and dynamic organism that has learned to resolve its projects with great brilliance, utilizing such unusual spaces as the window of a hairdresser's shop, a factory about to be demolished, the interior of someone's home, the display window of a bookshop, etc. In the words of founding partner Domènec, 'the objectives of ACM are principally to generate and carry out all kinds of cultural and artistic activities with a commitment to an avant-garde aesthetic, and channel and promote multidisciplinary collaboration with all the branches of knowledge associated with contemporary art'. ACM are also members of Red Arte and maintain contacts and collaborative ventures with other like-minded associations such as Les H from Vic, 22ª and La Cosa, both from Barcelona and referred to above. Up-and-coming activities planned by ACM include 3Domèstico2, a one-man show by Domènec in El Roser (Lieida), 3Per fi cap record, a montage of works by Xavier Arenós and Jordi Canudas in Can Palauet (Mataró) as part of the Visions de Futur 2000 Biennial, and the intervention in the window of the AKA haidresser's shop (Mataró), commissioned by Rafael Ruiz.

Karin Du Croo, 1997.
Perejaume, 1998.	Domenec, 2000.

ACM: BAIXADA DE LES ESCALETES 6. 08302 MATARÓ (BARCELONA). TEL: 34 93 755 01 08. e-mail: deli.dom@teleline.es

Located in the hart of Barcelona's gothic quarter, Box 23 is a young space with great expectations. In the definition offered by box 23 director Edgar d'Avilia, it sees itself as a laboratory for contemporary art, its mission being to embrace up-and-coming proposals and serve as a platform for the development of new interests in the field of the visual arts. The physical space consists of two rooms that open onto the street by way of several windows. The two rooms are like double-surface boxes, and the space itself is a metaphor of the situation of art in Barcelona and offers content that is in its turn a symbol of its aesthetic project, to which Victoria Castro Jung and Anxo Amarelle also contribute. Box 23 commend its activity with a cycle organized by the independent curator Luisa Ortínez.

Jaime Gili, 2000. Photography.
Justine Bennet, 2000. Sound installation.	Estanislau Roca, 2000. Sound installation

BOX23: CARRER AMPLE 23 PLANTA BAJA. 08002 BARCELONA.
TEL:34933023882. E-mail: ample23@yahoo.com

La más bella is the title of a creative literary and artistic review edited by Diego Ortiz and Pepe Murciego in Madrid. Each issue is devoted to a specific theme and is open to the latest creativity, in all its diversity of forms, adapted to the medium of print. This interesting idea has already run for 16 issues, characterized by an irregular periodicity and a format that is always varied and original. With this project its creators seek to offer, in the words of Pepe Murciego, 'a new form of seeing-understanding-participating-promoting culture; that lovely idea of "from mass culture to mass culture". The duo are also members of the Red Arte collective and take part every May in the annual Encuentros de Editores Independientes (EDITA) at Punta Umbria (Huelva), in addition to working with other independent organizations such as La Ruta del sentido (Oviedo), EI Perro (Madrid) or B Naufraguito (Barcelona), among others. For Ortiz and Murciego, being alternative does not mean turning your back on anything or anyone, but contributing something different to the evolution of the whole. The forthcoming issue of La más bella carries the title CON DOS PELOTAS ('WITH TWO BALLS') and has contributions from Manuel Rufo, Chelo Matesanz, Alex Francés, Paco Serra, Antonio de la Rosa and Jose Luis Santalla, among many other artists.

LA MÁS BELLA: APDO. 282. 28500 ARGANDA (MADRID). TEL: 34 91 870 05 86 /34 629 77 44 31

One of the most consistent organizations in the city of Barcelona is the 22ª (Espacio 22ª). This association grew out of the friendships of a group of artists who shared the same concerns and an interest in working together in a large industrial space as a site for creating art and formulating a range of artistic proposals. Out of this proposal came Espacio 22ª, an independent venue open to creative projects of all kinds. The association is made up of a committee of 8 people, who manage and run the space: the artists Toni Giro, Cristoph Hafner, Pep Dardanyà, Tono Framis, Art Larsson and Alfredo Costa Monteiro, and the art critics Eduardo Pérez Soler and Alex Mitrani. The space and its activities are financed by a system of quotas, in addition to the contributions of the other collaborating members, and this season they also have a grant from the Sociedad General de Autores. At the present time they are considering adjustments to the overall viability of their project and their aspirations for the program, which will be dominated this year by the cycle Game Over. The 22ª project is based on consensus between all those involved and is worthy of note as a model of self-management which favors a critical stance and reflection on the situation of current art in a framework open to the most heterogeneous proposals which pursue the evolution and stimulation of contemporary artistic practice and its impact on the urban environment. They are currently engaged in establishing links with associations from Norway and Switzerland, in addition to their existing contacts with lconoscope (Montpellier) and the Association KUB (Nice).

Performance at 22a

22ª (ESPACI0 22ª): MARGARIT 70. TEL-FAX: 34 93 309 83 40.
E-mail:tat@retemail.es

El Purgatori in Valencia is one of the most prestigious and best-known groups in Spain. It was started up by the Purgatori Society of Artists, a group which had previously exhibited in the workshop of one of its founders Pistolo, who along with Oscar More and art critic Nilo Casares is one of the most visible members. The management of the gallery in Cl Salvador in Valencia has now disappeared, although Purgatori as an association continues. The performance of this association has been extremely effective, not only with respect to its line-up of exhibitions, its catalogues and publications, but also for setting an example to be followed by other similar associations. Purgatori has has managed to survive economically thanks to subscription fees. A very important point has been the association with the so-called Art Network (Association of independent art cooperatives in Spain), which has helped them to undertake many exchanges on a national level. Two years ago they linked up with the Swedish gallery Konstakuten, who organized the first seminar on European Independent Spaces, FESARS, the intention being to facilitate exchanges on a European level. Recently they organized a collective exhibition entitled 'Banco do Purgatori; 24 Contos' on the subject of money. The show took place in two spaces: The gallery Por Amor a Arte in Porto and afterwards in the Museo do Agua in Lisbon. For this exhibition they produced a checkbook with check's created by each artist. Another novelty is the coming launch of a new website which will be called "P3"

EL PURGATORI, VALENCIA (Pistolo- oscar mora). TEL: 34 93 391 7765

Cruce, managed by Alfredo lgualador, is one of Madrid's most emblematic spaces. His goals are the promotion and diffusion of art and contemporary ideas, which are marginal~ from the institutions and official cultural circles. All members of this group are immersed in the world of art or philosophy and therefore debate is an essential part of this groups activities. After six seasons, Cruce hopes to carry on with the help of some economic aid from the Community of Madrid's public administration at WEGAP and the Ministry of Culture. Cruce has frequently worked with other centers and has opened its doors to artists and thinkers of other nationalities.

CRUCE, C. ARGUMOSA, 28, 28012 MADRID, TEL: 34 91 431 6605

In the area of new broadcast media which have arisen from new communication technology, we've seen the birth of Connect-arte, a window to the world as wen through the Internet, through which we are sent electronic art works, information about art and contemporary activities. One of Connect-arte's original contributions has been to accommodate artworks especially conceived and created for the Internet, sending them out on a mailing list at no cost whatsoever to the creator. The goal of Yoonnah Kim, who runs things, is to create an artistic information and experimentation center making use of the WAP system and to serve as a reference point for information related to urban 1% and contemporary culture. The project is financed by the revenues generated by Connect-arte's commercial activities, which allow it to provide a server and some topnotch resources. This website was never considered to be a self-sufficient project and in recent months has been restructuring and redefining itself as a new site for Cyber-art-into named i-art.net, which will be launched in 2001.

CONNECT-ARTE, BARCELONA, TEL: 34 93 206 3710, FAX: 34 93 206 3711.

Leaving the urban environment, we find a seasonal lineup at Jafre de Ter, directed and financed by the creator Mario Flecha, a galleriest with an important background in the development of recent trends in the art world, who has gone from running a gallery in London for 10 years to organizing this independent space in a rural zone in Gerona, and at the same time running the magazine Untitled. The fact that this space can be found in these surroundings is, in Itself, part of the essence of the project, challenging the cultural monopoly of the urban centers. At Jafre de Ter, they've shown the work of artists who work with media such as video and installations, and who represent cutting-edge work, as in the case of Mireya Masò, 1997, Jordan Baseman and Monica Brandeirneier, 1998, Francis Alÿs, 1999, Jorge Macchi, Miguel Angel Rios and Miguel Rotschild, 2000.

E-MAIL: flecha@compuserve.com

An old launderette is the site of the independent foundation Lavandería Fundació, which has created great expectation is Barcelona since recently being set up. Composed of Pedro Oliver, Oscar Mora y Carlota Fraga, it has managed to create a space with a lot of character, in which they plan to display the work of artists whom they personally believe in. La Lavandería is making great strides towards holding an important place in tin artistic and cultural scene in Barcelona, of international calibre. There was a memorable opening exhibition and recently they've hosted "Dispositivos, el arts muere por exposición" ("Devices, the exhibition is killing art) by Alberto Lomas.

La Lavandería

Aire represents an interesting alternative with regard to groups and independent spaces in Barcelona. Its creator Joan Casellas wanted to create a space for artistic thought which would give credit to the practice of short-lived art such as urban intervention, poster-art and performance. This association also includes the participation of Agnes Ramírez and Xavier Moreno. Aire works as a mobile space, thus sharing a characteristic of other initiatives such as those of the artistic group from Mallorca who created the Nomadic Centre of Contemporary Art.

Aire, however, has a concrete medium of reaching the public, through its magazine of the same name. Here activities are conceived and artists are invited to participate with their creations in postcard format. Apart from this, they organize exhibitions, happenings and festival$ of action art, one of their main areas of interest, in collaboration with other civic organizations. Aire operates as a center of documentation for this genre in Spain and can currently claim a collection of more than 400 photographs. The group holds a very critical view of the speculative situation and the criterion of the administration which ignores certain forms of artistic activities which can be found on the hinge of the commercial circuit. Aire works together with various groups nationwide, such as Public-Art (Madrid), Club 7 (Barcelona), RAG/XAG and with groups in the RED-ARTE network.

Aire	Aire

AIRE, C. BADIA, 18, 3ª, 08012 BARCELONA, TEL: 34 93 2374346

NeKane Aramburo and Eve Gill de Prado, members of Trasforma, are the pioneers of Red Arte which started off at Encuentros de Arte Actual (Current Art Events) which, organized by Trasforma, took place in Vitoria-Gasteiz in November 1994, and continued the following year in Murcia organised by the group Mestizo. Through these events various groups and independent art organizations were brought together from different parts of Spain, which up to that point had been working in isolation. Trasforma is based in the historical center of the city of Vitoria Gasteiz and operates as an alternative, non-profit space. Their lineup of events includes exhibitions, installations, performance, media-art, interdisciplinary events, workshops, conferences and presentations. This year Trasforma is moving to a new space which will have the double function of production and artistic management center, with special emphasis on photography, architecture, urban development and the application of new technology in the creative field.

RED ARTE & TRASFORMA, C. CANTÓN DE ANORBÍN, 01001 VITORIA-GASTEIZ, TEL: 34 945 285161, http://trasforma.org (not yet working)

Dani Montilleó and Susana Rodríguez make up La Cosa, a tiny cubic space, located in a shop window next to the hairdressers AKA Perruquers, who in the near future will collaborate with ACM, another independent group from Barcelona. La Cosa is an undertaking which displays the desire to communicate with the spectator and the possibility to transform any space into a place to exhibit art. An original contribution of this new initiative is its interrelation with the spectator, the accidental pedestrian in this part of To city. This group wants to offer a quality lineup and prefers an everyday, natural relationship with contemporary creation. The work of Toni Giró, member of the group W, has opened its program of exhibitions.

Toni Giro, 2000. Window display intervention.

LA COSA, C. ESCUDELLERS, 71, 08002 BARCELONA, TEL: 34 93 3014513/34 93 757 1959, FAX: 34 93 796 2544

This article, have provided a glimpse of a very rich panorama where private initiatives formed by creators, take on projects of great interest related to the cultural concerns of society at large, maintaining a rejection of speculation and a pioneering spirit.

Text: Juan Carlos Rego Copyright B-guided & the artists. kopenhagen.dk wish to thank B-guided & the artists for there colaboration.
This artikel was first published in B-guided # 5.