MADRID ABIERTO is an international artistic initiatives programme which is held throughout the month of February in the junction Paseo de la Castellana-Recoletos-Prado since 2004. It is an avenue for approaching the interpretation and comprehension of how the public space is constructed from the sphere of art. Since its first open invitation announcement it has received more than 1.200 proposals. Out of all the projects presented, 29 were exhibited in the previous three editions and 13 will be exhibited this year, selected by different juries comprised by international experts.

Organised by the Cultural Association MADRID ABIERTO, the 2007 edition of the programme is promoted by the Altadis Foundation, the Department of Culture and Sport of the Autonomous Community of Madrid and the Governing Department for the Arts of the City Council of Madrid, with the collaboration of the Telefónica Foundation, La Casa Encendida of Obra Social Caja Madrid, the Ministry of Culture, ARCO, Radio 3 of RNE, Círculo de Bellas Artes, Canal Metro, Cemusa, Centro Cultural de la Villa of Madrid, Remo, Mediazero and Metro.

For this fourth edition, which will be held from the 1st to the 28th of February, a total of 658 projects were presented; 471 for the general invitation, 61 for the façade of La Casa de América, 28 for the façade of Círculo de Bellas Artes, 74 works for Canal Metro and 24 sonorous initiatives for Radio 3. The breakdown by countries of the projects presented is as follows: Spain (174), Italy (46), USA (46), Mexico (40), Argentina (33), Germany (28), Colombia (28), France (25), Brazil (18), Canada (16), Cuba (16), Ecuador (14), Chile (13), The Netherlands (13), Portugal (12), Ireland (9), Sweden (9), United Kingdom (9), Venezuela (9), Japan (7), Austria (6), Yugoslavia (6), Australia (5), Peru (5), Belgium (4), Costa Rica (4), Finland (4), Norway (4), Poland (4), Turkey (4), China (3), Croatia (3), Slovenia (3), Russia (3), Switzerland (3), Uruguay (3), Bulgaria (2), El Salvador (2), Georgia (2), Guatemala (2), India (2), Iceland (2), Israel (2), New Zealand (2), Czech Republic (2), Cyprus (1), Denmark (1), Estonia (1), The Philippines (1), Greece (1), Hungary (1), Latvia (1), Lithuania (1), The Dominican Republic (1), Serbia (1) and Singapore (1).

The selection committee was comprised by Juan Antonio Álvarez-Reyes (curator of Madrid Abierto 2007), Ramon Parramon (director of Idensitat), Cecilia Andersson (director of Werk) and Guillaume Désanges (co-ordinator of art projects in Les Laboratoires D’Aubervilliers, Ille de France). We declared the project for the façade of Círculo de Bellas Artes unfulfilled and pre-selected thirty projects, from which the curator finally selected Fernando(We were young. Full of life. None of us prepared to die) by the collective Discoteca Flaming Star; proyecto_nexus* by the collective [nexus*] art group; I Lay My Ear To Furious Latin by Ben Frost; Rezos/Prayers by Dora García;Pictures by Mandla Reuter; Guantanamera by Alonso Gil and Francis Gomila and Short Circuit/Cortocircuito by Dirk Vollenbroich. In addition to these seven selected projects, the current edition is complemented by other projects from artists invited by the curator: Dan Perjovschi, Susan Philipsz, Johanna Billing, Leopold Kessler, Oswaldo Maciá and Annika Ström. Through this mixed selection model our intention is to continue to make progress in our objective of broadening each annual proposal of MADRID ABIERTO.

In this year’s edition, for the first time, two specific invitations for audiovisual and sonorous works were announced, which were selected by the curator, myself, Arturo Rodríguez and José Iges. The following 11 works were selected for projecting on Canal Metro: Rothkovisión 3.0 by Daniel Silvo; Mierda de caballos y príncipes by Fernando Baena; Rest by Carolina Jonsson; Every Word is becoming by Alexander Vaindorf; Alpenflug (Alpine Flight) by Juan Carlos Robles; Himno by Cristian Villavicencio; PlasmaLux06-7 by Tanja Vujinovic-Zvonka Simcic; Mis Quince by Alfredo Pérez; Lucía by Pere Ginard and Laura Ginés; Candy by Mai Yamashita and Naoto Kobayashi and The Toro’s Revenge by María Cañas. For broadcasting on Radio 3, the following 8 works were selected: Am I walking by Jouni Tauriainen; Bendicho juez de la verdad by Eldad Tsabary; Reiterations (Elizabeth Street) by Sonia Leber and David Chesworth; Postal Densa. Postal Sonora. Madrid-Bogotá by Mauricio Bejarano; Alkaline by Paul Devens; Funkenspiel by David Halsell; Poema Jazz (a Clara Gari) by Luis Eligio Pérez and BihotzBi by Zuriñe Gerenabarrena.

Likewise, following on with the work of the previous editions, E451 continues to develop the graphic image and web page and, for the second year running, together with various debate tables on public art, the selected artists will present their work in La Casa Encendida on the 1st and 2nd of February.

We are continuing the process of creating an initiative of a scale manageable by a small team without a permanent or continuous structure, based on an open invitation announcement geared towards the production of ephemeral or temporary projects for the public space of the city of Madrid.

Jorge Díez

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QUITO, 1984 LIVES AND WORKS IN BILBAOWORK EXPOSED IN MADRID ABIERTO: HIMNO

EDUCATION2006·    Faculty of Fine Arts. University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU)2002·    Faculty of Contemporary Arts, University of San Francisco de Quito. 2002-2005

EXHIBITIONS2006·    Top Ten, Windsor Kulturgintza Gallery, Bilbao.·    Getxoarte 2006. Aula de Cultura, Getxo- Vizcaya.·    Fine Arts Students Exhibition, Araba Exhibition Hall, Vitoria.·    Fine Arts Exhibition, Municipal Exhibition Hall of Barakaldo, Bilbao.

2005·    Leihoak/Escaparates. Bilbao-Vizcaya. MEM.

2004·    WS #2MEM. Workshop 2. La necesidad de lo real. Bilbao-Vizcaya.·    Workshop 1. Ningún Artista Joven. Quito-Ecuador·    First University Biennial of Contemporary Art. Quito-Ecuador.

PRIZES AND GRANTS2004·    Grant Prize to study in the University of the Basque Country, UPV-EHU from the First University Biennial of Contemporary Art. Quito-Ecuador

OTHER ACTIVITIES2005·    Co-producer of DVD video editions for the project Leihoak 2005. Musica ex Machina MEM Festival, Bilbao.

2005·    Boom man in the filming of the Ecuadorian film "Que tan lejos” by Tania Herminada.

2004·    Co-ordinator of the laboratories Workshop 1 Ecuador, Workshop 2 Bilbao.

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FORMAT: VIDEO DIGITAL LENGTH: 1:11 MIN YEAR: 2005

Game of symbologies and elements of the Ecuadorian discourse on national construction. The video attempts to alter elements that we have internalised in our imagery of the country. The text of the Ecuadorian Anthem has been translated into English and the movement of a circumference marks the tempo to which the lyrics should be sang in karaoke style.

This video is a piece of work on the national iconography that touches on the subject of an identity built from a conventional discourse. Its elements: the music of Ecuador’s Anthem and its text translated into English merely parody the seriousness given to these nationalist discourses in Latin American countries.

Potentially, various meanings can be inferred from the video being that it is shown in a place distant from the iconography that it makes reference to. Leaning towards a somewhat more universal analysis of the national discourses based on this type of iconography.

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