Other experiences

In this section about other experiences, we gather various activities that have taken place throughout our journey: participation in meetings,  collaborations, specific activities, etc.

Imaxe dunha taza con pintura de cores

2024

Good Cultural Practices in Artistic Residencies | Municipal Artistic Coliving of Lugo

At the end of November, we participate in the session titled Good Cultural Practices in Artistic Residencies, organized by the CAM (Municipal Artistic Coliving of Lugo) as part of its co-design process. With the participation of prominent cultural agents, the session addresses the impact of good practices in artistic residency projects, exploring various approaches to professionalization, sustainability, access to culture, and protocols for safe spaces. 

The session features four presentations by Zaida Llamas and Alfredo Puente (General Coordination and Curatorship of the Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Cinia, Cerezales del Condado, León); Ania González (Lawyer specializing in cultural law and intellectual property, co-founder of despacho.eu, Vigo); Sara García (Co-founder of A Seara and board member of the Galician Association of Cultural Management Professionals, Lugo); and Caterina Varela (Artist, curator, and cultural manager, director of the Residencias Paraíso program of the RPM Collective).

 

Cultural Rights for a Living Democracy | O Gabinete

In November, we participated in the event "Dereitos Culturais para unha Democracia Viva", an open conversation between Caterina Varela and Fran Quiroga by O Gabinete. The goal of the conversation and debate is to create a space for reflection on how cultural rights can be materialized in practice, through concrete actions that are already working in Galicia, such as the Residencias Paraíso program promoted by the Colectivo RPM. The discussion also aims to explore the specific mechanisms of action, analyze the impacts at the sectoral and civic levels, and examine future frameworks for culture in service of social and territorial cohesion.

 

Fugas e Interferencias | CGAC

The program of the IX Internacional Performance Art Conference Fugas e Interferencias included a plenary lecture by Caterina Varela entitled Residencias Paraíso 2027–2024. This talk traced the journey of the Colectivo RPM from the inception of its Residencias Paraíso artistic residency program. Through the various stages of its development, key aspects of its operational model were addressed, and reflections were offered on the crucial role that independent projects supporting artists play in the global landscape of performance art.

The Internacional Performance Art Conference Fugas e Interferencias is organized by the University of Vigo and supported by the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea (CGAC). The primary focus of the conference is the analysis and reflection on new trends in the field of performance art, both from a practical and theoretical perspective.

 

Vermuts of Internationalization | La Caldera

The Virtual Vermuts of Mobility and Internationalization 2024 are a prototype of action, communication, and networking strategically designed as a forum to support and promote the artists who make up the annual program of La Caldera, as well as an exercise in national and international positioning for the institution ahead of a future Platform for Mobility and Internationalization, La Caldera Magnètic, which will be in-person with its first edition in 2025.

Around conversation topics or thematic axes as a pretext for sharing creative experiences, cultural methodologies, and the profiles and interests of the artists linked to La Caldera, Caterina Varela participates in the panel dedicated to the national context alongside Guillermo Arazo (Espai La Granja Valencia), Fernando Pérez (Azkuna Zentroa Bilbao), Beatriz Bello and Darío Barreto (Laboratory of Live Arts and Citizenship of Tenerife), Jacobo Pallarés (Network of Alternative Theaters), Lorenzo Pappagallo (Festival Escena Patrimonio), and Lorena Benot (Festival Cádiz en Danza).

 

Professional Gathering | Escena Galega

As part of the professional days organized annually by Escena Galega at the Pazo de Cultura de Carballo, RPM was represented by the director of Residencias Paraíso, Caterina Varela, in a discussion panel titled "Mediation. Expanding the relationships between the audience and the professional scene" alongside Paloma Leal (Baychimo Teatro), Victoria Teijeiro (actress, occupational therapist, and doctor in theater for social inclusion), and Eva Alonso (Board of Directors Escena Galega).

 

Pro Labs | MeetYou Valladolid

In March 2024, Caterina Varela participates as a guest at Pro Labs of the MeetYou Festival that takes place at the Teatro Calderón in Valladolid.

Pro Labs is an international platform for professional meetings that takes place in parallel to the festival and that this year is dedicated to artistic residencies under the title "Creative Cities: Artists' residency models and glocal collaborations", bringing together national and international prescribers from Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine.

 

2023

O que pode a danza (What Can Dance Do) | Consello da Cultura Galega

We conclude 2023 with the publication of a report by the Consello da Cultura Galega on Colectivo RPM for their project "O que pode a danza (What Can Dance Do)". This project is part of the Performing Arts, Musical, and Audiovisual Section of the Consello da Cultura Galega, curated by Natalia Balseiro and with audiovisual production by Miramemira.

 
Daily Exercises for Sensitive Bodies

Finishing the summer of 2023, we have released a collection of videos, specially prepared for social networks, to immerse ourselves in different artistic universes. Hand in hand with eight artists from our region - Mónica Mura, Julia Laport, Fran Martínez, Cris Balboa, Tina Roco, Bal Castro, and Inés Santos, Alejandra Balboa, and Sabela Domínguez - we have created this digital repertoire. A project that was made possible thanks to the support of INAEM / Ministry of Culture, through the Next Generation Funds of the European Union.

 
Dance Interfaces | Platform for the internationalization and promotion of dance in Canarias.

In the summer of 2023, Caterina Varela participated as a guest in the biennial platform Dance Interfaces in Tenerife getting to know first-hand the work of different Canarian artists and colleagues from various regions. Dance Interfaces is powered by the Laboratorio de las Artes | Tenerife LAV.


2022

Portugal Exchange

In the year 2022, Caterina Varela and Félix Fernández traveled to Portugal on several occasions to meet with other Portuguese professionals and get a closer look at the neighboring country's context, thanks to the support of Acción y Promoción Cultural from the Ministry of Culture, as part of our strategy to open up to Portugal.

During this expedition, they had the opportunity to meet with Catarina Saraiva and Alexandre Valinho from the Linha de Fuga platform, Paulo Covas from Campus Paulo Cunha Silva in Porto, Rui Torrinha, artistic director of CCVF in Guimarães, Diana Estrela and Beatriz Lobo from A Turma in Porto, Ana Carvalhosa, Pedro Vilela, and André Braga from CRL – Central Elétrica de Porto, Sofia Freitas from Mala Voadora in Porto, Elisabete Paiva and Sofia Matos from Materiais Diversos in Lisbon, Carla Sobre Nousa, co-artistic director of Espaço Alkantara in Lisbon, Diana Lopes from Polo Cultura Gaivotas Boavista in Lisbon, and Tânia M. Guerreiro from PI Produções Independentes.


2020

Publication | Prácticas inspiradoras de las artes vivas en Iberoamérica (Inspiring Practices of Performing Arts in Ibero-America)

In the year 2020, the Grec Festival of Barcelona supported and hosted the presentation of a publication - driven by Catarina Saraiva, Eduardo Bonito, Fernando García, and Natacha Melo - titled Prácticas inspiradoras de las artes vivas en Iberoamérica (Inspiring Practices of Performing Arts in Ibero-America), a mapping that gathers various experiences of great interest on both sides of the ocean. After an initial edition featuring 55 practices, the publication expanded to 100 practices, and a freely accessible edition was presented at the FIT de Cádiz in 2021.


Habitación Peregrina (Pilgrim's Room)

We were invited to present the Residencias Paraíso project at the event "Habitación Peregrina" promoted by Camiño Escena Norte, at the Vello Cárcere (Old Prison )of Lugo. There, Caterina Varela was able to share the key aspects of the program and learn about other projects from the Cantabrian coast.

 

2018

Fluxonomía's Workshop at DNA Festival

As part of the DNA Festival program in Pamplona, Félix Fernández and Caterina Varela participated in a meeting with various national professionals focused on the topic of Fluxonomy and 4D Economy. We worked closely with different colleagues over three days in the city of Navarra.

 
Galicia Escena Pro

As part of the conference program of the professional fair promoted by Agadic, we gave a presentation of the program at the library of the Salón Teatro, tailored to the context of partners from the Galician Network of Theatres and Auditoriums. This presentation was conducted by Rut Balbís and Caterina Varela.

 

Encontro Artistas Novos (New Artists Encounter)

Similarly, Félix Fernández did a presentation about the program and the operation of the Residencias Paraíso call within the lectures held at the New Artists Encounter, emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of the call.

 
WOS Festival

In the context of the WOS Festival, Rut Balbís took part in the panel discussion titled "We Need to Talk: New Cultural Management Policies" at the CGAC (Galician Center of Contemporary Art) in Santiago de Compostela.

 
Culturgal

Invited by Escena Galega, Caterina Varela participated in Cultugal 2018 as part of the seminar "A Galician Scene for the Future: In Search of New Models and Connections for Management and Creation in the Performing Arts" at the Pazo da Cultura in Pontevedra.


2017

Jastas Pista

Jastas pista was a series of actions that took place in the Montealto neighborhood of A Coruña, with the intention of involving the community in dance and movement-related activities in a playful, educational, and participatory manner.

The project aimed to reclaim the public space, as a communal ground. A symbolic battle where the square was transformed into a dance floor, thereby regaining the power of collective experience.

As an ending, the Maraton Jastas Pista was a dance competition for couples among the city's residents, with the collaboration of DJ Isaac Peixes, with Areta Bolado as the master of ceremonies and a popular jury.

 
Let’s dance

Let's dance were a series of gatherings that took place on Sunday mornings throughout the month of October 2017 at the Campo da Leña, in A Coruña. These meetings involved collective body practices through movement, guided by different invited artists (Armando Martén, Andrea Quintana, Cristina Montero, Alexis Fernández, Ánxela Blanco, Félix Fernández, Iván Marcos, and Caterina Varela).

In the context of Nocturnia - the alternative leisure program by the Youth Department of the City Council of A Coruña - we also organized nighttime gatherings for the teenagers of the city.

 
Remezcla Popular

Remezcla Popular was a creative process involving a non-professional community in the city, led by local artist Leodán Rodríguez, with the creative drive being the reinterpretation of a fundamental piece of Galician contemporary dance (Janet Novás's "Cara Pintada"). The aim of this initiative was to convey the logic of contemporary creation to our neighbors, while also highlighting the value of Galician contemporary art.

 

2015

Campo Magnético (Magnetic field)

Campo Magnético (Magnetic field) was an exceptional and unique event, specially prepared for the María Pita festivities in 2015, at A Coruña. For the first time, a dozen local independent artists (Rut Balbís, Ánxela Blanco, Blanca Blanco, Alexis Fernández, Carolina Fernández, Félix Fernández, Armando Martén, Kirenia Martínez, Ana Beatriz Pérez, Carlota Pérez, Andrea Quintana, and Caterina Varela), all working within contemporary movement arts, came together to be part of a distinctive creative process.

It was a collective experience for which we extended an invitation to Félix Fernández to lead an action that would be constructed with the entire group in the same week of the public opening. It was a convergence of intentions in favor of a symbolic and unrepeatable experience.

On Saturday, August 8th 2015, we danced together in Parque da Sardiñeira, in A Coruña, to a large number of people who, against expectations, filled the square.