This year, the Marraco award coincides with the 40th anniversary of the establishment of artistic workshops in penitentiaries, which annually engage over 3,000 inmates in creative processes. These workshops serve not only as artistic spaces but also as tools for participation, expression, and personal development, promoting the right to creation and involvement in cultural life.
Domingo Estepa stated, "The Marraco award showcases the creative potential of inmates and highlights the value of art and culture as instruments for personal growth, expression, and transformation." He further noted that initiatives like this contribute to creating opportunities and reinforcing social reintegration processes. These comments were made during the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
Participation and categories
This edition features 88 works from penitentiary centres including Ponent, Dones, Quatre Camins, Brians 1, Brians 2, Mas d’Enric, Lledoners, Puig de les Basses, and Andorra. Inmates were able to submit their creations in the categories of painting, ceramics, and sculpture, with entries accepted in both a free theme category and a special award dedicated to the theme of “Time.”
Awards and recognitions
Among the centres with prize-winning inmates are Quatre Camins, Mas d’Enric, Lledoners, and Ponent in the ceramics category; Ponent, Puig de les Basses, Andorra, and Lledoners in painting; and Ponent, Mas d’Enric, and Quatre Camins in sculpture and installation. The special award for the theme “Time” recognised works from two inmates at the Mas d’Enric Penitentiary and one from the Ponent Penitentiary. Additionally, a special competition was held to select the commemorative poster for the event, won by an inmate from the Andorra Penitentiary.
A longstanding award supported by institutional collaboration
The Marraco award is the oldest prize organised by the Artistic Area of Catalonia's penitentiary centres. It is supported by the Cercle de Belles Arts de Lleida, which grants the awards, as well as by the Lleida City Council, the Lleida Provincial Council, the Arts de Ponent Association, and several local artists who are part of the jury. Inmates at the Ponent Penitentiary also assist in setting up and dismantling the exhibition, under the guidance of the centre's plastic arts technicians. Furthermore, visitors can access photographs of the works submitted to the competition that could not be physically displayed due to space limitations via a QR code, ensuring visibility for all creations and facilitating public access.
Attendees at the opening event
The opening ceremony was attended by Òscar Gómez, director of the Ponent Penitentiary; Carles Oferil, deputy director of the Andorra Penitentiary Institutions Department; Pilar Bosch, councillor for Culture, City Promotion, and Consumption at the Lleida City Council; Andreu Vázquez Romero, director of the Institut d'Estudis Ilerdencs; and Divina Drudis, president of the Cercle de Belles Arts de Lleida. Some inmates from the Ponent Penitentiary also attended the event, accompanied by the centre's plastic arts technicians.
