The Alzuza centre is expanding its activities with new programmes and a more wide-ranging set of events for 2010

The Oteiza Museum has expanded the activities it is offering for yet another year, with new activities that are programmed alongside those that are now regular features. Apart from its programme of exhibitions and publications, this year it also includes the Juan Huarte Prize for Sponsorship, which will be awarded on an annual basis, and the experimental cinema programme, as well as consolidating other activities that were begun last year, such as the Interpretations programme or the “Poetic Encounters at the Oteiza Museum” cycle.

1 Exhibitions

• Forma, signo y realidad. Pasajes de Escultura Moderna española (Form, sign and reality. Passages in modern Spanish sculpture) (1900-1935) (27th May – September 2010)

This exhibition curated by Carmen Fernández Aparicio, head of the sculpture department at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, brings together pieces by those artists whose work laid the foundations for the renewal of Spanish art, and formed the cultural and artistic platform that the Avant-garde emerged from, with works by Jorge Oteiza, Paco Durrio, Julio González, Pablo Gargallo, Mateo Inurria, Manolo Hugué, Julio González, Josep Clarà, Enric Casanovas, Ángel Ferrant, Emiliano Barral, Joan Rebull. Picasso, Dalí, Oscar Domínguez, Leandre Cristófol, Alberto Sánchez, Eudal Serra or Antoni G. Lamolla, among others. This project has been made possible with the support of Kutxa.

• Homo Ludens. El artista frente al juego. (The artist with respect to the concept of games)(November 2010 – February 2011)

This project, curated by Aitziber Urtasun, head of Didactics at the Oteiza Museum, analyses the links between the concepts of creativity and games in the world of art. The exhibition has graphic work, sculpture, installations and animated videos that bring together work by artists such as El Lissitzky, Kurt Schwitters, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Vicente Esteban, Ángel Ferrant, Ramón Acín, Winsor McCay or Norman Mclaren, among others.

• Jorge Oteiza retrospective

Together with Caja Burgos, the Oteiza Foundation is presenting an exhibition about Jorge Oteiza, which will be on display at the Rope House in Burgos (June-August) and later on in Valladolid (September-October).

• Interpretations Programme

During 2010, we will be continuing the exhibition policy devised at the Museum in 2009, with which we aim to pay homage to Jorge Oteiza in the area that houses the permanent collection. In 2010 David Rodríguez Caballero, José Miguel Agorreta, Manu Muniateguiandikoetxea  and Koldo Sebastián will be taking part in this programme, in collaboration with the Pamplona Area Community

2 Catalogue raisonné

During 2010 the work compiling the catalogue raisonné of Jorge Oteiza’s sculpture will be finished. This task was begun in November 2007 and given to Txomin Badiola by the Foundation Board

3 Juan Huarte Sponsorship prize

The Museo Jorge Oteiza Museum is performing a dual function with this prize: first of all, it is paying tribute to the man who was Jorge Oteiza’s great friend and patron, and secondly, it is recovering the spirit of his patronage by awarding a prize worth 8,000 euros intended for up-and-coming artists so that they can prepare a project to be carried out in the current year.

4 Publications

• Critical edition of Jorge Oteiza’s book “Ley de los Cambios” (Law of changes)

This project analyses one of the key essays in Oteiza’s aesthetic thinking. The critical study of this edition will be by professor Delfín Rodriguez, lecturer in the History of Art at the Complutense University in Madrid and author of works such as: El siglo XX, entre la muerte del arte y el arte moderno, La Arquitectura del siglo XX), The XX century, between the death of art and modern art, The Architecture of the 20th century),¿Qué es la cultura moderna? Del objeto a la Arquitectura. (What is modern culture? From object to architecture,) among others.

• The Oteiza Museum Journals nº 7. Monumentality in Jorge Oteiza’s work: Izarrak alde, a cemetery project presented for the International Competition for Ametzagaña Cemetery in San Sebastián.

The study of the cemetery project called Ametzagaña aims to deal with the relationship between the idea of death that underlies Oteiza’s thinking and praxis, and its effect on the approaches that led the sculptor towards his aesthetic of the everlasting; an aesthetic that he was to be condensed in an idea of monumentality as a receptive space. The authors of this study are: Ana Arnaiz, Jabier Elorriaga, Xabier Laka and Jabier Moreno, lecturers in the Sculpture Department, University of the Basque Country. This project has been made possible with the support of Kutxa.

• Form, sign and reality. Passages in modern sculpture in Spain (1900-1935)

The research process inspired by this project and its conversion into an exhibition will be reflected in a monographic publication, which will include the study by the exhibition’s curator, Carmen Fernández, Adelina Moya and Josefina Alix.

• Homo Ludens. The artist with respect to the concept of games.

This publication will include various critical studies that analyse the meaning of the project and the works by the artists included in this.

• Interpretations programme publication:

The interpretations programme includes those publications that contain projects by the authors David Rodríguez Caballero, José Miguel Agorreta, Manu Muniateguiandikoetxea & Koldo Sebastián, in collaboration with the Pamplona Area Community.

• Children’s story: La caja vacía (The empty box)

The Empty box is a children’s story that can be enjoyed by both children and adults, The empty box is a text by Aitziber Urtasun with illustrations by Elena Odriozola and is the first publication of this kind connected with Jorge Oteiza’s life and work. This project has made possible with the support of Kutxa.

5 Second Encounters with poetry at the Oteiza Museum

After the first cycle of “Encounters with poetry”, at which contemporary poets gave comparative readings of their own work and Jorge Oteiza’s, this year a second one is planned, that will include four poets on the 17th and 24th of April and 8th and 15th of May. On this occasion, Francisco Brines, Felipe Juaristi, Maite Pérez Larumbe and Juan Carlos Mestre will be taking part. This programme has been made possible with the support of the Pamplona Area Community.

6 Experimental film season: “Del Éxtasis al Arrebato” 50 años del otro cine español” (From Ecstasy to Rapture: 50 years of alternative Spanish cinema)

The “From Ecstasy to Rapture, 50 years of alternative Spanish cinema” season includes 43 films by different artists and consists of 6 screenings lasting approximately 70 minutes each. The programme has been organised by Antoni Piquet and not only includes films by established directors like José Val del Omar, Joaquín Puigvert or Eugenio Granell, but also work by younger filmmakers like David Domingo, Oriol Sánchez or Laida Lertxundi, as well as work by Pere Portabella, Carles Santos, Javier Aguirre, Eugeni Bonet, José Antonio Sistiaga or Iván Zulueta. It is being shown at the Oteiza Museum together with the Contemporary Culture Centre in Barcelona (CCCB).

7 Catalogue on the web

At the end of 2010 it will be possible to access the document collection catalogue through the Museum web site. This legacy includes about 20,000 items that will be added to the Bibliographic Catalogue consisting of 17,000 items that form part of the Jorge Oteiza Library and the Documentation Centre Library.

8 Education and research grants

During 2010, the “Itziar Carreño Research” and the “Oteiza-Kutxa Museum” grants for education projects will be officially announced.

9 Special education programmes

As well as its regular school campaign and the education programme that the Oteiza museum offers each year, two completely new experiments will be starting this year: the teaching programme with Pamplona Prison and the one that will be held in the Virgen del Camino Hospital Unit. Throughout January, February and March 2010 the Museum will be working with a group of 15 inmates from Pamplona Prison. The results will be on display at the Civivox iturrama from the 14th of April to the 26th of May 2010. Furthermore, during February and March 2010, in collaboration with CREENA (Special Education Resource Centre of the Government of Navarre) a programme of 6 plastic workshops on Oteiza’s life and work will be held in the Virgen del Camino Hospital Education Unit.