- The company has again taken part in the annual monar'T festival by providing a transformation centre which has been decorated by the artist Aleix Font (Rata con Corbata) via a collective process which reflects on multiculturalism in this neighbourhood.
- In this edition of monar'T 12 new urban spaces in the city of Girona have been transformed into artistic murals with social themes.
- As with the monar'T festival, Endesa collaborates with other artistic initiatives by offering its facilities for decoration throughout the region of Catalonia.
274 kW of reflection on multiculturalism in Girona's Santa Eugènia neighbourhood. This could be the new name of the Endesa transformation centre at 76 Calle Montnegre following its transformation into one of the creative spaces for the third edition of the monar'T festival. Endesa offered its facility to the organisers of the festival for conversion into a mural under the creative direction of Aleix Font (Rata con Corbata), an artist and teacher residing in Salt who specialises in community artistic intervention methodologies. The result which can be seen today is the culmination of a collaborative project with a very clear aim: to work and reflect on cultural diversity in Girona's Santa Eugènia neighbourhood.
A total of 21 students took part in the project, some from the Psychology degree course at the University of Girona and others from the Santa Eugènia Institute. The theme was multiculturalism and the project was carried out over three different sessions during which collaborative dynamics were created among the participants. For Aleix Font, what matters is not so much the outcome (which is open to interpretations and personal tastes) but the work and reflection process behind what is being created from the perspective (or "prism", in the words of the artist) from which the theme is addressed. "We wanted it to end up being something real; our aim was to communicate what interculturalism meant for our group in the neighbourhood which they experience first-hand", explains Font. "We work from the prism of respect and balance; these were the concepts that we wanted to develop and from which we subsequently worked to reflect on our own prejudices and take joint responsibility for them", he adds.
This reflection on prejudices is why the human silhouette than be seen in the mural has empty spaces, open to be reflected upon, which it is the responsibility of everyone to build. So the geometric shapes symbolise the elements, thoughts and beliefs that reside within people and which enter into contact with other shapes to generate new perspectives. Work and individual responsibility are expressed through the scales, while the wavy lines symbolise the environment and context and how this is also within people. "The whole constitutes a clear example that the variety and plurality of shapes and origins in the same space is synonymous with the project", concludes Font.
This is not the first time that Endesa has offered its facilities throughout Catalonia for artistic purposes. One of the latest such projects was carried out in partnership with the town council of Els Pallaresos, where the company handed over three transformation centres to local visual artists who created art which expressed ideas related to the fostering of gender equality and the prevention of male violence, and the promotion of Els Pallaresos through well-known local figures. Another recent project was "Transformative City", an initiative promoted by Tarragona city council as part of the "Walls that Talk" initiative.
The aim of these initiatives is to integrate electrical infrastructure in an original, attractive and decorative manner into the physiognomy of various urban centres, thus enhancing their aesthetic appeal. The only conditions, which do not limit the artistic creations, are that the ventilation grilles of the cabinets must not be obstructed and the electrical risk plate and identification of the installation must be clearly visible, in accordance with the company's safety requirements. Otherwise, imagination is the only limit.
About the monar'T festival
monar'T is an annual Mural and Urban Art festival in the neighbourhoods of Santa Eugènia de Ter and Can Gibert del Pla, with a 100% social character and multicultural theme.
monar'T is a community initiative which seeks to involve all, from neighbourhood, social and cultural associations and service and administrative bodies to artists and local residents at the individual level.
Its first edition was staged in 2019 with the aim of putting a quality cultural event on the map in the city of Girona focused on one of the most interesting aspects of the neighbourhoods of Santa Eugènia de Ter and Can Gibert del Pla: their CULTURAL WEALTH AND DIVERSITY.