SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 9 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Sergio Rubira Gutiérrez (Madrid, 1975) has been selected as the fresh artistic director of Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA). The nomination was sanctioned by the Board of Directors of this contemporary art hub of the Cabildo de Tenerife, which convened today, Tuesday, and followed the standards of the independent evaluation committee, comprising representatives from island cultural institutions and directors of contemporary artistic centres.
Sergio Rubira’s vision for the forthcoming years, presented as ‘100 actions for TEA’, underlines that a museum of modern and contemporary art like TEA “should be distinguished by its dedication to the present, engaging in critical dialogue with and revolving around the present moment, but it should also facilitate comprehension of the recent past, recollect and visualise probable futures, and contemplate what is yet to come”. Furthermore, he stresses that this centre “ought to be an establishment engaged with society, acknowledging its intricacy and encouraging experimental, pioneering, and transformative ventures.”
In this context, he opines that TEA “is accountable for supporting cultural production, engaging in multidisciplinary work and embracing the transdisciplinary, that which resists classification, that which knows no specific boundaries.” “TEA is compelled to be an open, all-inclusive institution that is intertwined with its immediate surroundings,” asserts Rubira, who has served as a lecturer of Art History at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) since 2008 and at the Master of Curatorial Studies at the University of Navarra, also holding the position of deputy director general of collections and exhibitions at the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern (IVAM).
In his strategic plan, Sergio Rubira underscores that TEA “has to strike a balance between its global aspiration and its proximity to the locale” and amongst his proposals is the idea that the TEA collections and their distinctiveness will serve as the central axis from which the thematic lines that will define the public programmes and exhibitions will unfold.
Enhancing the processes of research, exhibition, and dissemination of artistic practices developed in Tenerife and the Canary Islands over the last century, promoting the study and dissemination of the museum’s publicly owned collections and archives, formulating a coherent strategy for the acquisition and receipt of museum resources, and executing measures for the conservation and restoration of TEA’s artistic, photographic, and documentary collections are some of the goals outlined in this operational scheme.
‘100 actions for TEA’ emerged as the most esteemed project among the eleven applicants for this call and was evaluated by Ana M. Quesada Acosta from the Royal Canary Academy of Fine Arts of San Miguel Arcángel; by Celestino Celso Hernández Sánchez from the Círculo de Bellas Artes of Tenerife; by Lucía Dorta from the Ateneo de La Laguna; by Tania Pardo Pérez, director of the Centro de Arte 2 de Mayo (CA2M), and by Álvaro Rodríguez Fominaya, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Castilla y León (MUSAC).
The invitation for applications for the artistic leadership was extended through a public competitive process, attracting twelve candidates, with the evaluation focusing on the merit of the proposed projects as well as the educational background and professional expertise of the contenders. Hence, this art hub of the Cabildo de Tenerife is once again advocating for the use of public calls as a means of selection.
INSIGHT INTO SERGIO RUBIRA.
At IVAM, Sergio Rubira curated the exhibitions ‘Orientalisms’, exploring the construction of the imagery of the Near East and North Africa between 1800 and 1956 (2020; in collaboration with Rogelio López Cuenca); ‘1989. The end of the 20th century’ (with Sandra Moros); ‘Matter, space and time: Julio González and the avant-garde movements’; ‘Spain: Artistic avant-garde and social reality at the Venice Biennale, 1976’ (2018); ‘Case study: Ignasi Aballí’ (2017), among other projects. He also spearheaded the museum production initiative ‘IVAM Produce’ and initiated various programmes like the Collaborative Research Center (CIC), IVAM Archiva, or Variations on the plane, fostering collaborations between artists and communities and collectives in the El Carme neighbourhood where IVAM is situated. During this period, collaborative ventures were established with institutions such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the Kunstmuseum den Haag, the Tate Liverpool, the MAXXI in Rome, the CAPC in Bordeaux, the MUCEM in Marseille, and the Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon.
Moreover, Rubira has served as a visual arts advisor for the Program for the Internationalization of Spanish Culture of Cultural Action Abroad and for the Advisory Committee of MUSAC (León). He currently sits on the Acquisitions Commission of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Madrid. He initiated and oversaw the Department of Research, Data, Documentation, Questioning, and Causality of CA2M, Móstoles (2016-2017 and 2021-2022). He has held the position of academic secretary of the Master in History of Contemporary Art and Visual Culture, Autonomous University of Madrid, Complutense University of Madrid and Reina Sofía Museum between 2010 and 2017. He directed the Madrid 45 training programme of the Community of Madrid (2015-2017). He co-directed the Image Study Conference of the Community of Madrid (2005-2009); the Contemporary Spanish Art Conference (Helga de Alvear Foundation and La Casa Encendida, 2012-13), and the course Curating the Present (La Casa Encendida, 2013-2016).
He contributes to El Cultural de El Mundo as a writer. He was previously the deputy editor of EXIT magazine and is currently a member of its editorial board. He has also been the deputy director of all the publications released by the group (EXIT Express, EXIT Book, Flúor). Noteworthy is his involvement in the curatorial team for the 40th anniversary of ARCO (2022), alongside María Inés Rodríguez and Francesco Stocchi, and his contributions to numerous publications by institutions such as the Centre Pompidou-Metz, the Venice Biennale, the Kunsthall Grunland in Porsgrunn, Norway, the PS1-MoMA in New York, Tranzit in Prague, the FRAC Bourgogne, and the Musée de Beaux Arts in Dijon, among others. Throughout his extensive career, Sergio Rubira has curated numerous exhibitions.
