Tell me about your relationship with the gallery? When and how did it start?
It started about a year and a half ago while I was looking for a job, when a friend of a friend told me about this place (Corretger5). I met Lucas Cappelli, an architect who had created the space and turned it into a place fit for exhibiting art. I explained that I wanted do to an event there, an event which was to be an auction of art pieces but without money. The idea was to put what you could offer on a piece of paper pinned to the wall beside the piece so the artists chose the winner and future owner of their artwork. After the event Lucas told me that I could use the space whenever I wanted so I just ended up being here all the time, involving and connecting artists and collectives and using the space as a means of doing so.
What inspired you to create this event (Socialarium)?
I'd always wanted to do an installation that incorporated a lot of space and so we started thinking about the theme of the instalation. We were thinking about creating a digital world; investigate how the digital world creates the real world and how they come together. And how would you create a space that makes people think about that? We invited two architects to look at the space and a programmer to create the different digital activities.The space with the boxes represents digital pixels. It was really hard building the boxes and it took forever. We learned a lot, it was really interesting and everyone crossed their specialities.
What do you want to achieve with your involvement in the gallery?
I want it to be a space where people come to learn and interact. To create a community of artist instead of a gallery where you just come and see things and then leave. I want it to be known by artists, not to be commercial.
What's your favourite thing about the event creating proccess?
Definitely not the day before the exhibition, haha. The discussions are the part I enjoy the most and the meetings before the actual events. I've also learned that anything is possible.
What future projects have you planned with Corretger?
We have events planned up until July. The next exhibition will be about the idea of, ''an error''. We have eight artists showing their angle of an error, if it could be used to your advantage or not. I'm really excited about that.
In June we have a graffiti exhibition without graffiti. The idea is to create a laboratory of the mind and the world of a graffiti artist. The exhibition is going to be everything about graffiti like the gloves, the mask, pencils, sketchbooks, markers but no actual graffiti.
In July we're doing a festival that we just started conceptualizing, so we don't know yet what it is going to be about. But it is going to be about the process so we're going to film every conversation and then project it.
We also do non-art events. We have started doing cabarets with circus, theatre, dance, acrobatics and burlesque. The idea of this is to give artist that has never performed before a space to perform.
We also have vintage markets and we want to do more discussion dinners, were you invite artist and you discuss art.
Favourite food?
Chinese food. I love sushi. Oh, I'm so hungry now that I think about it.
Which one has been your favourite project so far?
I think this one because I learned so much, especially about coordinating. This must also be the most technical one and that has been really interesting to know about.
What have been the most challenging aspects?
Organisation. Organizing people, coordinating stuff. Getting things done on time. The non-fun stuff I guess. It takes a lot of time, which results in me being here the entire time, and that is challenging.
Which one has been your favourite exhibiting artist in the gallery?
There is one artist that I love and I did an exhibition with him last year, called Xanu. He's a part of this collective at the moment and they are doing really awesome things. They do multimedia performances, action painting and digital art. It is completely nuts.
From what or where do your inspiration come from in general?
From other projects, artist and exhibitions and also just from talking. Both of us have so many ideas and just from talking to each other we come up with even more.
What do you think about the art scene in Barcelona, and what do you dislike/what frustrates you about it?
There aren't many galleries in Barcelona that do different, interesting exhibitions that are based on concepts. There are small spaces with paintings to see, but not like whole projects and complete ideas. But it is definitely starting. I think that people still see a gallery as a place where you buy things. It needs more ambitious and passionate people who can fight and build something from nothing.
How do you think the exhibitions been affecting the art scene in Barcelona?
Hopefully it's been affecting everybody! I believe there are people who are checking our webpage for events but it's quite hard because we also do the promotion with the press and stuff, so we do everything. I like it to be smaller and less known like a community.
We gather you are leaving for London in September, what awaits you there and how do you think it will aid you in your understanding of the arts world?
I'm going to London to do my master in curation. Basically I think that I want to get deeper into my understanding of art and I think that would help a lot with the exhibitions I do in the future. I want to go back to studying.
Are you coming back to Barcelona after?
I don't know, maybe. Who knows, I have no plans. Two years in England and who knows where I'm going to be next.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
I want to set up my own space and have it to be a multifunctional gallery, community centre, and art space. I don't know where though.
Curious about the gallery Zoe is working at? Visit Corretgers page here.
