'Weeds', an artistic and generational portrait of universities

Nora Fernandez Fernandez

Today, October 6, the exhibition 'Bad herbs' opens in the Palm Trees Room of the Fuenlabrada Library. The exhibited works are the result of the collaboration between the artists Ana Paes and Maira Vilella, along with several URJC students. The collection can be visited during library hours until October 28.  

The exhibition is held in the context of an artistic residency produced on the campus itself. The proposal has materialized from research and artistic creation, using collaborative work techniques for them. 

The works that make up the sample are photographs, cyanotypes and various objects, which show parts of the creative process. The sample builds a generational portrait of the student body focused on diversity.  

 'Malas Hierbas' is part of the Creative Europe research project, “They: Live - Student lives revealed through context-based art practices”. This is an international program with the participation of institutions from five European countries: The Students City Cultural Center in Belgrade, Center for Archival Research ICARUS in Zagreb, The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Cetinje, The Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka (APURI) and the Faculty of Communication Sciences of the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) of Madrid. 

The objective of the project is to encourage students to approach the understanding and creation of contemporary art through the use of archive photography, as well as to participate in artistic activities during their residential stays on campus. The results of the project can be used by different cultural institutions, art galleries and curators, as an example of a collaborative project, with the aim of further improving contextual arts education and experiences through innovative approaches. 

All the cities involved (Belgrade, Madrid, Podgorica, Rijeka and Zagreb) will open a joint exhibition at the end of October. In addition, a book will be published on the “They: Live” project, which will be edited by the project's main researcher at the URJC, Lorenzo Torres. 

The collection of photographs and other materials of the exhibition will be available on the official website of the project They Live