The Cultural Council of Contemporania High Craftsmanship Barcelona

We invite worldwide professional artists to share their innovation and artistic vision in contemporary craftsmanship through different types of applied arts such as ceramics, art jewelry, lacquer, metal, textiles, glass, paper and wood.
 
The first edition of the fair will be supported by a cultural council, composed of the most important figures of craftsmanship in Spain, that will analyze and select the participants based on their professional portfolios.
 


To apply, consult the Open Call of Contemporania
Deadline: March 20, 2023.
www.contemporania.cat
 


Cultural Council 2023



David Places. Head of Internationalization and Cultural Promotion for the Catalan Crafts Council in Barcelona.

As a seasoned professional in the development, growth, and exploration of the crafts, arts, design and local cultures, David sees the significance of craftsmanship and the impact of its values in the mesh of today's society. The craftsman's pursuit of production excellence, endeavours to use quality, sustainable, and locally sourced materials and expression of their genuine identity inspired me to take on the challenge of bridging the legacy of craftsmanship to the contemporary art and design world.
​​David has developed and implemented a powerful cultural program highlighting the synergies between craftsmanship, design, and contemporary art. This program elevates and changes the perception of crafts in society, debunking the collective perception that craftsmanship is a skill of the rural world. To implement this cultural program, he has managed and curated almost 200 exhibitions in Europe and beyond and had imported several crafts shows to Barcelona from around the world.

David Places states:
The selection of works should reflect the contemporary artistic crafts scene at an International level, and showcase them in an appropriate venue that enhances these works and creates a powerful experience for the visitor.
Events like Contemporania have a significant impact, creating a platform for contemporary makers and their works to be showcased and promoted, helping them to arrive to their potential audience. This exposure can lead to increased visibility, recognition and sales. It helps artists, collectors, and other professionals in the arts and crafts industry to network, collaborate and build relationships that can bring new opportunities.






Laura Miguel. General Secretary of the World Crafts Council Europe (WCCE).
Laura has a degree in translation and interpreting from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and completed her studies with master’s degrees in international Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, International Business, Intercultural Communication and European Studies. She has worked both in the private sector and in non-profit organizations, mainly in Spain, but also in other countries such as Serbia and Belgium. For more than 14 years she has been managing projects to strengthen and improve the competitiveness, design, promotion, and enhancement of the arts and crafts.

Laura Miguel states:
Such an event as Contemporania aims at showing cutting-edge contemporary crafts. It intends to be a reference for high-quality contemporary crafts, so visitors want to see amazing objects that surprise them with their beauty, simplicity and complexity at the same time, technique, etc. So when curating, aspects such as novelty, quality and contemporaneity should be upfront. Other aspects such as diversity should be also taken into account. With diversity I mean materials (new materials, waste materials, precious materials, etc.), techniques (traditional vs new technologies), origin (countries), craftspeople.
I really welcome to finally have a fair like Contemporania in Spain. We needed that so much!!!! In our country we lack the appreciation of crafts, not to say contemporary crafts. This is a wonderful way of showing visitors and stakeholders what contemporary crafts are. It will arouse interest in those beautiful objects and the makers and stories behind them. I would like to congratulate the organisers and sponsors for this initiative and I wish them lots of success (which I'm sure they will have).






Alex Riu Oró. President of Col.legi de Joiers, Orfebres, Rellotgers i Gemmòlegs de Catalunya.
From a family of jewellers, Alex studied for a degree in Business Administration and Management at the University of Barcelona. After some time working in the financial sector and combining his studies in Gemology at the University of Barcelona, he travelled to Antwerp to complete his studies as a Diamond Grading Specialist.
Subsequently, he joined the family business to which he remains linked until now.
In 2016 and until the present he has chaired the Col.legi de Joiers, Orfebres, Rellotgers i Gemmòlegs de Catalunya. In 2017 he co-founded the first company for the distribution of laboratory-created diamonds and in 2020 he opened the first store in Spain.






Silvia Serra. Jeweller artist and President of the Design and Creativity section of Col.legi de Joiers, Orfebres, Rellotgers i Gemmòlegs de Catalunya.
Graduated in Applied Arts from the Massana School of Barcelona in the speciality of Jewelry 1991/1996. Official Graduate School of Arts and Crafts LA LLOTJA in the speciality of Jewelry 1996, Barcelona. Higher Level Training Cycle at Fachhochschule Pforzheim - University of Design, Technology and Business, Pforzheim, Germany.

Sílvia Serra states:
An event like this becomes an intense effort to discern and clarify on the part of all the actors involved the quality and level of international creative current affairs. Those involved and interested look for excellence both in the product and in what surrounds it, whether material or not.
An opportunity to participate in a framework such as that of Contemporania provides a series of both commercial and creative synergies to stimulate and value the artist/creator. In a space like this, we find a whole range of different sectors that promote the activity of creators, buyers, gallerists, museums, collectors, and industry... A unique and diverse public at the same time interested in the contemporary creative offer.




 
Amador Bertomeu & Leo Caballero. Founders and Directors of Klimt02 y Hannah Gallery.
Amador Bertomeu and Leo Caballero are the founders and directors of Klimt02.net, an online platform launched in 2003 that has established a network to offer the opportunity to discover the world of contemporary jewellery internationally by creating a database of selected and structured information. A website that draws and communicates contemporary jewellery in the context of current visual culture.
At the same time, they are the directors and founders of Hannah Gallery Barcelona since 2007, representing outstanding and renowned jewellers worldwide, offering criteria and selection to collectors and art jewellery lovers.

Klimt02 states:
It is important to have a clear theme and consistency in the works selected so that a concrete and coherent message can be transmitted. The artistic level of the selected works must be high and representative of the best of their discipline. This will help maintain the credibility of the event and attract an audience that is really interested in the topic. Presenting new proposals and forms of expression that give a renewed and current vision of arts and crafts, will also help to maintain the freshness and appeal of the program.
A cultural meeting like Contemporania can contribute to the formation and awareness of the public towards arts and crafts, as well as to the dissemination of values such as creativity, innovation contributing to consolidating the arts and crafts sector as a strategic sector and important within the cultural and economic framework of the country. To attract the attention of different agents of the world of arts and crafts, such as artists, gallerists, critics and collectors, and provide them with a space to show their works, establish contacts and exchange ideas, as well as visibility to emerging artists and new talents.






Paulo Ribeiro. Founder and Director of CONTEMPORANIA and Le Département Interiors.
Jewellery and art were the disciplines that motivated Paulo Ribeiro to create JOYA Barcelona Art Jewellery & Objects 14 years ago. A unique event that combined the best of national and international artistic jewellery in the city of Barcelona. After the pandemic, Ribeiro decided to expand the field and created together with the Crafts Council of Catalunya CONTEMPORANIA High Craftsmanship Barcelona, the first event of this kind in Spain, dedicated to high craftsmanship and excellency in arts and crafts.
Ribeiro is a Brazilian architect, with a master's and PhD from Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya. He directs the creative agency Le Département Interiors since 2007, with projects all over the world, working with private clients, international brands and governmental institutions.

Paulo Ribeiro states:
Curating an event like Contemporania, gives the participants and the public the possibility to see quality works in the same space. In the selection process, we are expecting to receive pieces with a lot of experimentation on forms and techniques, with a personal concept that expresses the thoughts and wishes of each artist. This personalized final result is unique and makes a difference in the field, this originality is important and provides each piece with the one-off requested content.
Each event has its own public target, with Contemporania we expect to show high craftsmanship but at the same time with affordable prices, we want to create a community so that anyone could have a piece of contemporary craft in their collection. Also to show that crafts have a very experimental side, not only a traditional technique but also expressing feelings and telling stories through the exhibit pieces, giving to the public the most artistic side of contemporary craftsmanship.