The Cidade da Cultura has launched the exhibition 'Ser Noutras', which features more than thirty works from the collection of the Museo Reina Sofía. The exhibition, inaugurated by José López Campos, the Galician Minister of Culture, Language and Youth, also includes 15 new pieces created by Galician artists.
In total, the exhibition showcases nearly fifty works from 45 artists spanning the 20th and 21st centuries, structured around what López Campos described as '18 creative conversations' that weave together a 'living and intergenerational narrative'. This dialogue connects contemporary Galician creators such as Chelo Matesanz, Xisela Franco, Andrea Costas, Julia Huete, Mar Vicente, Yoseba MP, Pablo Barreiro, and Lois Patiño with established figures like Arturo Souto, Julia Minguillón, Virxilio Viéitez, Berta Cáccamo, José María de Labra, Xurxo Lobato, Francisco Leiro, and Menchu Lamas.
The exhibition encompasses a variety of artistic mediums, including painting, sculpture, installation, photography, and video art. López Campos explained that the collection is presented as a dynamic entity, linked to an active artistic process from which new works can emerge, including the 15 pieces created specifically for this exhibition.
One notable artistic dialogue features painter Maruja Mallo and visual artist, set designer, and playwright Marta Pazos, culminating in a large spatial installation that serves as a 'visual theatre', framing the exhibition's narrative. Another creative pairing was brought to life during the opening event, where poet Yolanda Castaño collaborated with artist Loreto Martínez Troncoso, their voices broadcast continuously through a radio in the exhibition space as part of the piece titled 'Para mi amigo'.
The opening also included a performative installation called 'Llamar, multiplicar', where artist Rodríguez-Méndez invited pairs of parents to strike yellow papers with graduated glasses, transforming this repetitive gesture into a reflection on communication and shared experience, inspired by the work of Lucense painter Tino Grandío, 'Campesino afila guadaña'.
The event featured contributions from Carlota Álvarez Basso, head of Institutional Relations at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía; Anxo M. Lorenzo, General Director of Culture for the Xunta de Galicia; Ana Isabel Vázquez, Managing Director of the Cidade da Cultura; and the exhibition curators, Verónica Santos, Director of Cultural Action at Gaiás and art historian, and Chus Martínez, cultural manager, art historian, and Director of the Camilo José Cela Foundation.
'Ser Noutras' will be open to the public until 28 March 2027, during which the Gaiás Inspira programme will offer a range of activities related to the exhibition, aimed at both adult and family audiences, as well as schools. These initiatives will involve several of the artists featured in the exhibition and will explore themes such as memory, feminism, and territory.
