SHARE
COPY LINK
MY SPANISH CAREER

ART

‘In Spain I found a new and marvellous energy’

In the latest instalment of My Spanish Career, The Local chats to Inés Diarte a sculptor whose work is exhibited at Art Madrid 2015 this week.

'In Spain I found a new and  marvellous energy'
Inés Diarte divides her time between Madrid and Paris. Photo: Elena Martin

After a career in advertising she started designing furniture before moving into sculpture. Her works have been on show in the Balearic Islands, Spain, France and Germany. Last year she had an exhibition at "El Senado" in Paris.

How did you come to set up a studio in Spain?

I settled in Madrid in 1997, because I was offered a great job with an advertising agency here. At that time art was just a hobby but after five years it became obvious that my path was to dedicate myself to that creativity. So I said "bye bye" to the corporate world and started up my own workshop pretty much from scratch. I was determined it was the right thing to do so it wasn´t too hard to give up the well-paid career even though I liked my job in advertising.

What inspires you about living here?

Spain is my second country by roots (my paternal grandparents were Basque). When I left France it was during a time of continuous labour strikes and complaining. In Spain, I encountered a new and  marvellous energy, more freedom, and a special kind of people.

Meeting people is easier in Madrid than in any other place and I like to spend time in the street, in bars, in public places, it is also where I find inspiration regarding the human spirit.

How is the art scene in Spain and how does it compare to international markets?

The spanish artistic scene is amazingly good. It is a joy for me to know those people and to have great friends among them.

The market is complicated. First of all, because it is quite limited to national production. Spanish people are not much interested in foreign creations – art is quite cultural – and they mainly produce and "consume" Spanish.

The second point is that there is no tradition in buying art among "normal" people, which narrows the market for "normal" artists.

There is no shortage of super talented Spanish artists who are highly valued in the international market, but the art market is also a financial one and therefore comes with its own rules.

Have you noticed a change since you arrived in Spain?

Of course the art market was better before the 2008 crisis simply because there was more money around. So the people who are really interested in art were able to buy art simply becuause they liked it. Then, their priorities changed.. It happened to a certain extent with the "big buyers" who were speculating on art: They changed their way of speculating.

So you live and create here but spend a lot of time in Paris organising exhibitions, how does that work ?

Madrid is an interesting, effective, and lovely place to work, but it is not really a great place to sell at the moment. I find more buyers out of Spain. Moreover, I enjoy being "bi-cultural", it helps me with perspective, regarding my work and also my life. Creating and moving around are a good way to keep one´s eyes open, and to be able to see instead of just watching.

Ines will be exhibiting her work at Art Madrid 2015 between February 25th and March 1st at Stand B5 at the Galeria de Cristal del Palacio de Cibeles.

www.inesdiarte.com

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

ART

African-born director’s new vision for Berlin cultural magnet

One of the rare African-born figures to head a German cultural institution, Bonaventure Ndikung is aiming to highlight post-colonial multiculturalism at a Berlin arts centre with its roots in Western hegemony.

African-born director's new vision for Berlin cultural magnet

The “Haus der Kulturen der Welt” (House of World Cultures), or HKW, was built by the Americans in 1956 during the Cold War for propaganda purposes, at a time when Germany was still divided.

New director Ndikung said it had been located “strategically” so that people on the other side of the Berlin Wall, in the then-communist East, could see it.

This was “representing freedom” but “from the Western perspective”, the 46-year-old told AFP.

Now Ndikung, born in Cameroon before coming to study in Germany 26 years ago, wants to transform it into a place filled with “different cultures of the world”.

The centre, by the river Spree, is known locally as the “pregnant oyster” due to its sweeping, curved roof. It does not have its own collections but is home to exhibition rooms and a 1,000-seat auditorium.

It reopened in June after renovations, and Ndikung’s first project “Quilombismo” fits in with his aims of expanding the centre’s offerings.

The exhibition takes its name from the Brazilian term “Quilombo”, referring to the communities formed in the 17th century by African slaves, who fled to remote parts of the South American country.

Throughout the summer, there will also be performances, concerts, films, discussions and an exhibition of contemporary art from post-colonial societies across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.

‘Rethink the space’

“We have been trying to… rethink the space. We invited artists to paint walls… even the floor,” Ndikung said.

And part of the “Quilombismo” exhibition can be found glued to the floor -African braids laced together, a symbol of liberation for black people, which was created by Zimbabwean artist Nontsikelelo Mutiti.

According to Ndikung, African slaves on plantations sometimes plaited their hair in certain ways as a kind of coded message to those seeking to escape, showing them which direction to head.

READ ALSO: Germany hands back looted artefacts to Nigeria

His quest for aestheticism is reflected in his appearance: with a colourful suit and headgear, as well as huge rings on his fingers, he rarely goes unnoticed.

During his interview with AFP, Ndikung was wearing a green scarf and cap, a blue-ish jacket and big, sky-blue shoes.

With a doctorate in medical biology, he used to work as an engineer before devoting himself to art.

In 2010, he founded the Savvy Gallery in Berlin, bringing together art from the West and elsewhere, and in 2017 was one of the curators of Documenta, a prestigious contemporary art event in the German city of Kassel.

Convinced of the belief that history “has been written by a particular type of people, mostly white and men,” Ndikung has had all the rooms in the HKW renamed after women.

These are figures who have “done something important in the advancement of the world” but were “erased” from history, he added. Among them is Frenchwoman Paulette Nardal, born in Martinique in 1896.

She helped inspire the creation of the “negritude” movement, which aimed to develop black literary consciousness, and was the first black woman to study at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Reassessing history

Ndikung’s appointment at the HKW comes as awareness grows in Germany about its colonial past, which has long been overshadowed by the atrocities committed during the era of Adolf Hitler’s Nazis.

Berlin has in recent years started returning looted objects to African countries which it occupied in the early 20th century — Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia and Cameroon.

“It’s long overdue,” said Ndikung.

He was born in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, into an anglophone family.

The country is majority francophone but also home to an anglophone minority and has faced deadly unrest in English-speaking areas, where armed insurgents are fighting to establish an independent homeland.

One of his dreams is to open a museum in Cameroon “bringing together historical and contemporary objects” from different countries, he said.

He would love to locate it in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s restive Northwest region.

“But there is a war in Bamenda, so I can’t,” he says.

SHOW COMMENTS