Culture

The 4,847 events organised in 2008 in proprietary and co-managed spaces reached an audience of 6,916,551 people, and were resourced with an annual budget of €30.3 million.

Cultural activities in proprietary spaces

Obra Social Caja Madrid has 15 sites dedicated to the worlds of art and culture. Below we briefly describe the two of them: La Casa Ecendida in Madrid and the Espai Cultural in Barcelona.

La Casa Encendida: A pre-eminent cultural centre and meeting place for the worlds of art, education, social concerns and environmental awareness, open to the general public and with full disabled access.

In 2008 more than 702,000 persons participated in the 2,187 activities organised by La Casa Encendida. A representative sampling of those activities includes:

• Exhibitions. The “Try again” exhibition on video games by two international artists: Ellen Kooi and Jesper Just; shows featuring new players in the world of Indian art and modern-day urban culture in the USA with “Beautiful Losers”.
• Performing arts. The dance music festival “Let’s dance”, the “Electronica in April” festival, and the series of concerts dedicated to French Nouvelle Chanson, were amongst the most acclaimed shows.
• Audiovisual arts. A programme of contemporary cinema, shorts and the latest in experimental video, along with retrospectives on modern film-makers.
• Literature and thought. Workshops and talks by leading authors, encounters with film directors, presentations of novels and collaborative projects between creative talents from different fields that converge in programmes such as “Emergencias”.

Espai Cultural of Barcelona: This centre has hosted exhibitions such as “Passion in the stands”, a visual journey through the varied events and situations that accompany a football match; “The colours or water”, with emphasis on the importance of responsible uses of resources; “The intimate pleasure of reading” and “Palpable words”, focused on the world of reading. These were accompanied by diverse other exhibitions, along with films, theatre and concerts, and the “Cultural Tuesdays” series of culture appreciation activities for youngsters

Cultural projects

The socio-cultural projects supported by Obra Social Caja Madrid work on two main fronts: one is to promote access to and interest in the world of culture and artistic creation amongst schoolchildren and disadvantaged social groups, and the second is to support the work of budding young artists by offering prizes, scholarships and various forms of aid.

The initiatives pursued in 2008 included:

• Art. “Generations: Caja Madrid Art Awards and Grants", to recognise and promote the work of young creators; the “Inéditos” programme of aid for call for exhibition proposals in the emerging arts; and the “2008 Poster Prize”, with 449 entries, organised around the theme of reflecting on the relationship between healthy eating and respect for the environment.
• Film. The “Cortos Caja Madrid Contests” supports young Spanish filmmakers in the world of film shorts, with 521 entries in the competition.
• Photography. The 2008 exhibitions were highlighted by “El mundo hoy. Nosotros" and "Caja Madrid Family Album”, along with the online photography competition “Revelados 08”.
• Literature. Organisation of the "Narrative and Essays Prize", as well as the "Luis Rosales Memorial Prize" and "Vicente Aleixandre Poetry Competition" for young authors.
• Music. Keynote projects include the "Sounds of the Earth" concert programme for schools, so children can experience and learn about the customs and traditions of other countries; and “Acordes Caja Madrid 2008”, a scheme for conservatory and music school orchestras
• Theatre. Including theatre campaigns developed especially for children like “Live the Theatre, the stage is yours”, which offers instruction in the performing arts for youngsters.
• Culture and social solidarity. This section takes in cultural programmes designed for elderly and disabled persons and groups suffering social exclusion. Some of the more notable examples are the "Coffee, Chat and Cinema" film screenings for the elderly and “Raise the curtain, lower the obstacles”, to encourage disabled people to take up theatre.