The Art and Patronage Awards (Premios Arte y Mecenazgo) have reached their seventh edition, increasing the recognition of individuals who are dedicated to creating and promoting art in Spain.
Each year, an ARTIST, a GALLERY and a PATRON are awarded for being an active role model in the arts scene in Spain.
The Awards allow us to assess and commemorate the qualities that make a particular artistic expression, gallery or patronage project be an example. Every winner of the award has indisputably influenced the world of art through generous and enriching contributions.
This year, for the first time, we open the nomination process up to the public in order to merit the artist, dealer or patron that is considered worthy of the award.
#PremiosArteyMecenazgo
The jury
Ignasi Aballí
Visual artist
He has held various individual exhibits in Spain and abroad, notable among which are those he held at Macba in Barcelona (2005), the Serralves Foundation in Porto, the IKON Gallery in Birmingham and ZKM in Karlsruhe (2006), the Today Art Museum in Beijing (2009), the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (2010), the Artium Museum in Vitoria (2012), the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (2002-2015) and the Miró Foundation in Barcelona (2016).
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Nimfa Bisbe
Head of art collections at the “la Caixa” Banking Foundation
A Graduate in the History of Art from the University of Barcelona and a Masters in the History of Art and Museum Studies from the University of Delaware (USA). She began working at the “la Caixa” Foundation in 1990, with the role of chief curator of the Contemporary Art Collection and, in 2002, took over management of the art collections of the “la Caixa” Social Work, which contains more than 9,000 pieces.
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José Luis Blondet
Special Projects Curator at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)
José Luis Blondet is the Special Projects curator at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). Among his works, the following are noteworthy: Maria Nordman: Film Room, Smoke, 1967 – Present (2011), Brújula para exploradores (2013), Pequeños y variados incendios: Documentos trabajando (2015) and Liz Glynn: El mito de la singularidad.
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Chus Martínez
Curator and director of the Institute of Art at the Basel School of Design FNHW (Switzerland)
Born in Spain, Chus Martínez is trained in philosophy and the history of art. She is currently the director of the Institute of Art at the Basel School of Design FHNW in Switzerland.
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Carlos Urroz
Director of ARCOmadrid
Carlos Urroz Arancibia (Madrid, 1966) has been the director of Arcomadrid, Festival of International Contemporary Art, since May 2011.
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Juan Várez
Collector
Born in San Sebastián in 1962. Graduate in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid. Two-year Masters in Ancient European Painting (16th and 17th Centuries) at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. During his second year, he specialised in The portrayal of European courts in the 16th century. This course was taught by Professor Lorne Campdell, who also supervised his dissertation entitled The portrayal of the court of Isabel de Valois.
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Aims
To recognise the talent of those contemporary artists who are benchmarks of artistic creation, contributing to the enrichment and awareness of cultural heritage in Spain.
Requirements
Candidates must be from Spain or carry out their work in Spain.
Artists must be no older than 55 years old.
Must currently be working.
Aims
To highlight their contribution to the artists’ careers.
To pay tribute to their vision in interpreting art of their era (primary market) or recovering art from the past (secondary market).
To acknowledge the importance of mediation between the artist and the collector.
To recognise dealers for their key role in professionalising the art market
Requirements
The gallery space must be open to the public.
It must be operating for a minimum of five years.
Aims
To acknowledge private participation in recovering, preserving and creating artistic heritage, as well as encouraging the promotion of culture.
Requirements
The tribute can be handed to a collection, philanthropic organisation or a patronage programme that contributes to the arts scene in Spain.