Since its creation, the University of Alicante Museum (MUA) has remained committed to contemporary art. This led to the launch of its Residency Programme for Artistic Creation and Research in 2015. The primary aim of this public and international programme is to galvanise the artistic sector and promote creation and research in contemporary art. Within this programme, five projects are selected and receive funding. For two weeks, the resident artists must undertake their project within the MUA facilities, allowing them to work at this institution, become familiar with its dynamics and receive support from technical staff while giving shape to their projects. They also participate in meetings with professionals from the sector.
We are pleased to present the exhibition of the projects carried out during the residency period, which ran from 12 to 23 September 2022. The selected projects were Sumergirse en un espejo, by Cris Bartual; Naturalezas insólitas, by Pablo Sandoval; Rabasa: An Imaginary Map of a Useless Territory, by David Mocha; Origen, by Fernando Bayona; and Metodologías críticas de investigación #2 contraintimidades visuales y realidades especulativas, by Andrea Corrales.
With Sumergirse en el espejo, Cris Bartual invites us to take a close look at images and discover new and fascinating visual universes in them. Pablo Sandoval’s Naturalezas insólitas is a multidisciplinary project on how language shapes our perception of things and their ability to create other realities. Rabasa: An Imaginary Map of a Useless Territory, by David Mocha, is a photographic exploration of the Rabasa area, on the outskirts of Alicante. Origen, by Fernando Bayona, is also an interdisciplinary project; this one is concerned with the emergence of symbolic thought in human beings and the origins of creation. Finally, as part of Metodologías críticas de investigación #2 contraintimidades visuales y realidades especulativas, by Andrea Corrales, 12 sex industry workers were interviewed to analyse and question the creation of sexualised content.
The exhibition you can now visit in the Sempere Hall showcases the projects conducted within the residency programme, during which the artists shared their creative experiences and processes and the University Museum became a centre for creation and research in contemporary art.
