About Lara Almárcegui
A champion of neglected and forgotten sites, Lara Almarcegui’s work carefully catalogues and highlights a particular location’s tendency towards entropy. Working at a time of widespread urban renewal in Europe, Almarcegui reflects upon the continent’s built histories and extractive relationship with the land, and has even worked towards these sites’ legal protection. As Spain’s representative to the 55th Venice Biennial, she filled the interior of the pavillion with massive piles of building rubble similar to those used during its construction. Almarcegui has exhibited internationally, including the Barbican Art Centre, London (2009); HKW, Berlin (2015); Athens Biennale (2009); Gwangju Biennale (2008); Sharjah Biennale (2007); The 27th São Paulo Biennial (2006); Seville Biennial (2006); Liverpool Biennale (2004); Lyon Biennale (2017); Manifesta IX, Genk (2012); TRACK, Gent (2012). Almarcegui lives and works in Rotterdam, Netherlands; and is represented by Gallery Mor Charpenter in Paris, Ellen de Bruijne Projects in Amsterdam, and Parra & Romero in Madrid and Ibiza.
About Isabel Lewis
Trained in literary criticism, dance, and philosophy, Isabel Lewis’ work takes on many different formats: from lecture-performances and workshops to music sessions, parties, installations, and what she calls “hosted occasions.” She has created works around topics such as open source technology and dance improvisation, social dances as cultural storage systems, collaborative creative formats, future bodily techniques, and rapping as embodied speech acts. Her work has been presented at the Tate Modern London (2017); Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève (2014); Ming Contemporary Art Museum Shanghai (2016 – 2017); Liverpool Biennial (2014); Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art (2015); Frieze London (2014); Tanz Im August Berlin (2015); Kunsthalle Basel (2014); Serpentine Galleries (2012); Dia Foundation, New York (2016); and Palais de Tokyo Paris (2016). Lewis is Berlin-based, born in the Dominican Republic and raised on a man-made island off the coast of southwest Florida.
About Recetas Urbanas
Recetas Urbanas [ en. Urban Recipes ] is a design and advocacy collective of architects, lawyers and social workers founded by architect Santiago Cirugeda. The collective, known for self-built projects that rely on local participation to complete mobile structures using locally sourced, second and third-hand materials. Activating different areas of urban reality, their projects are at the same time highly functional, legally provocative, and exploit the legalities surrounding the occupation of public space. Since its founding in 2003, Recetas Urbanas has worked with over 2,500 individuals internationally, of different social backgrounds, abilities and ages. Recetas Urbanas has undertaken projects around the world at cultural spaces including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Castellon de la Plana, Spain (2005); the Venice International Architecture Biennale (2016); Goteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art; and La Carpa, Seville (2010 – 2014). Recetas Urbanas is based in Seville, Spain.