Reus inaugurates a large cultural space for technological art

ReusThis Thursday, the New Art Centre of Reus opens its doors, a technological art center destined to mark a turning point. The space covers an area of 3,000 m², 700 of which are exhibition halls for this growing artistic discipline; there are also 500 m² for workshops from which to produce and restore the works, and there are still 1,500 m left² more in the form of a warehouse, but it will also be accessible to the general public. The New Art Centre is located on the outskirts of Reus, on the Constantí road, and aims to become an international reference.

The new space has opened thanks to the tenacity of Andreu Rodríguez, who is the president of the New Art Foundation, the Reus-based entity that since 2013 has been helping the artistic community develop new technological, scientific, conceptual, and social practices. According to Rodríguez, the new space aims to further strengthen that commitment. "We want to contribute to educating society, especially young people, and have an impact on people in the art world. Become a mecca for stakeholders of this sector," he explains. Before opening the doors of the new space, its promoters visited other leading institutions, such as the Schaulager in Basel and the Art Depot Boijmanes Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The Reus center "is a unique center, thanks to this specialization and uniqueness in the field of technological art," Rodríguez argues, arguing that the center's ambition is to be "a global benchmark."

Both he and the managing director of the New Art Centre, Montse Grau, highlight the collaboration and support they have received from institutions, as well as from patrons who have supported this project. They have received support from the Generalitat (Catalan Government), the Ministry of Culture, the Tarragona Provincial Council, and also from Reus City Council, the proud host of the space. During the presentation, the mayor of Reus, Sandra Guaita, encouraged everyone to visit the center: "In addition to being impactful, it is very emotionally engaging. In the case of some works, you become part of them, and it is a very different and interesting experience."

Inaugural exhibition

The New Art Centre will be presented in a small panel this Thursday, and will be open to the general public from October 9th, offering guided tours from Thursday to Sunday. The inaugural exhibition is Hello world!, which offers a journey through sixty years of technological art through more than 27 works from the New Art Collection. This first exhibition is an intergenerational dialogue between several artists from the collection, who have become key figures in digital art. According to the creators, "it is a reflection of the unquestionable advance of technology in society." The exhibition allows visitors to visit the workshops, laboratories, and warehouses where the work is documented, calibrated, tested, restored, and exhibited. The curatorial text of the exhibition states that "a Hello world! The visitor does not contemplate from the outside, but rather enters the circuit as a disturbance and as a sensor. Their perception is dynamic: it is configured in feedback loops with the works and with the Center's programs and spaces, which respond to, record, and reconfigure what is displayed.

The exhibition's works include Analivia Cordeiro's algorithmic choreography, Anna Carreras's data poetics, Paul Friedlander's light sculpture, and Dmitry Gelfand & Evelina Domnitch's expanded perception, among many others. "Each work operates as a node and gateway: it proposes interaction and interoperates with the other works, with the center's workflows and the foundation's networks, weaving a constellation of active relationships," according to the curatorial text.