Four Spanish artists develop projects in Morocco thanks to the residency exchange between La Térmica and the Fondation Maroc Premium

Four Spanish artists are developing their projects in Morocco until 5 June thanks to the exchange of residencies between the centre for contemporary culture of the Diputación de Málaga, La Térmica, and the Foundation Maroc Premium (Morocco). This is the second part of this project, which was presented last November and which will allow artists from both sides of the Mediterranean to develop their projects in the neighbouring country.

This is a further step in the process of internationalising the activities of the Diputación's cultural centre, highlighting the strategic position that the province of Málaga is consolidating on the cultural scene and also as a form of support for Spanish creators.

Thus, at the beginning of May, the Centre d'Art Contemporain de Ifitry (Essaouira, Morocco) received four artists who had already participated in La Térmica's Creators programme. Thus, Florencia Rojas, Emmanuel Lafont, Paloma de la Cruz and Jorge Isla have been selected to participate in this new exchange project. They resided at La Térmica to develop their projects in 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2020, respectively.

In 2021, La Térmica welcomed artists Imad Mansour, Khadija Tnana, Abdelmalek Berleiss and Mounat Charrat, who, through their work, highlighted the value of Moroccan art. They also presented their works to the public and professionals in the sector at an open day.

It was in 2014 when the first edition of the programme Creators of La Térmica was held, through which 49 artists from all over the world have passed so far, who in addition to residing in La Térmica, have had their own space to work on their projects.

Florencia Rojas (born in Argentina and living between Malaga and Madrid) mainly practices photography, establishing narratives about what is outside the dominant system of representation.

Emmanuel Lafont (born in Argentina and living in Malaga), works in a personal line entitled 'Conversations with Shakespeare', where he recounts his experience in each stage, and in a second, more pictorial, large-format line based on hyperrealism. 

Paloma de la Cruz (Málaga) works with clay using solutions and ornamentation that oscillate between the architectural and the textile.

Jorge Isla (born in Huesca and living in Bilbao) starts from a social base to examine the mechanisms of contemporary society through hidden narratives of political, social and economic structures.

Imad Mansour (Baghdad) makes sculptures, installations and videos, orienting his creations towards the dynamic search for space and rhythm.

The work of Khadija Tnana (Tetouan) revolves around the female body, a body far from the sole object of desire.

The painting of Abdelmalik Berhiss (Essaouira) is a hymn to naked life, freed from the matrix of academicism and elitism.

Finally, Mounat Charrat (Casablanca) questions the human condition in his works and explores the universal history of the individual.

Submitted by José Antonio Sierra, Hispanismo advisor.