After four years of construction work in Calatrava’s Agora, CaixaForum Valencia is almost ready to open its doors to the public. Experience art, history and technology at Valencia’s most innovative cultural centre…
In the City of Arts and Sciences stands the blue Agora. One of Santiago Calatrava’s famous pieces of avant-garde futuristic architecture will be the new spot for CaixaForum Valencia. CaixaForum Valencia has been under construction since 2018. Studio Cloud 9 and architect Enric Ruiz-Geli have led the project up until this point. Caixa Bank has financed the project with a €19m investment. It will open its doors on 22 June. Though the final touches are still underway, the final product promises to astonish.
With more than 6,000 sq m of usable space, two large zones will be open to the public on the ground floor. There will also be family-friendly and educational areas, as well as a bookshop and restaurant.
The spaces will be used for art exhibitions, conferences, concerts and shows, adding to Valencia’s range of cultural offerings. Social and educational events will also be hosted in CaixaForum Valencia.
The inauguration event will take place on 22 June 2022, and will host three exhibitions. The main exhibition will be Faraón. Rey de Egipto will display over 140 pieces of ancient Egyptian civilisation, on loan from the British Museum.
The second CaixaForum exhibition will consist of a new exhibition from La Caixa’s collection of contemporary art. Horizonte y límite. Visiones del paisaje is the result of 35 years of art collection. The works of prominent artists include Joan Miró, Gustav Courbet, Ramon Casa, Tacita Dean, Sophie Ristelhueber, Bleda & Rosa, Cristina Lucas, Victoria Civera, Perejaume and Hermen Anglada-Camarasa. They will be on display, and open to the public.
The final exhibition will be an interactive experience called LaNube{IA}. This looks at the educational potential of artificial intelligence and identifies its use for students, teachers, families, institutions, researchers and businesses. Museum-goers will be able to take part in projects. These are led by the University of Memphis, Carnegie Mellon University, The Institute of Artificial Intelligence Investigation of CSIC, University of Melbourne, Pompeu Fabra University, and StartLab-Neuroelectrics. The experience will be separated into three acts:
- Act 1: How does AI help educational objectives?
- Act 2: How does AI interact with us in learning processes?
- Act 3: Analysis of different technologies and experiences and conclusion.
From 30 June until 28 July the Noches de Verano programme will exhibit music and poetry events, film and the dramatic arts. Actors Rossy de Palma and Pi Piquer will host events in which Ajo+Nacho Mastretta, Héctor Arnau y Manu Louis, Dani Nello Quartet and Julie Fowlis participate, says Ferran Bono of El Pais.
• CaixaForum Valencia is one of eight similar projects nationally and is at the southern end of the City of Arts and Sciences in Los Jardines del Turia; many exhibitions offer free admission but visits need to be booked online at https://caixaforum.org/es/home: open daily from 10am to 8pm
