Artoteka, the Bilbao platform for renting works of art.
If we can't go to museums, let his works at least enter our homes . This would be one of the slogans with which Artoteka has started, a platform hitherto unpublished in Spain that proposes the ** rental of works of art for individuals, companies, small businesses, schools, health centers... **
Its objective is mediation with artists to bring art closer to our daily lives and to heterogeneous audiences. “ We understand art as an engine of social transformation That is why we consider it essential to promote the democratization of contemporary art and seek new ways to build critical thinking in a collaborative way through the works we propose”, they tell Traveler.es from the platform.
Its opening was not accidental, because in other countries, they tell us, similar projects are being carried out successfully. For example in l'Artothèque du Limousin , in France, where this system has been in operation for many years, and in museums such as the MUAC of Mexico . Although he mainly did it based on the European Reshape project, an experiment in collaborative art.
Based in Bilbao , the group works in collaboration with the cultural center Azkuna Zentroa- Alhóndiga Bilbao and it is in his media center where they have made an exhibition that shows part of the works that can be borrowed.
THE OPERATION OF ARTOTEKA
Can you imagine having a work of art at home for a while? That is what they propose with the rental of their works. For this first prototype, which will last throughout 2021, they have 10 artists lending 3 works each . In other words, there are about 30 works available in total.
For three months, for a quarterly rate of 50 euros for individuals and 150 euros for companies, with all transport, installation and insurance costs included, you have at your disposal a work of art wherever you want. Of course, **for now they are only operational in Bizkaia. **
“All the artists in the collection, which can be consulted on our website, they are artists living in Bilbao and the works are divided around a series of themes that we consider to be of general interest and that may be ways of approaching art from other fields such as ecology, technology, memory…”, they add.
The collection includes very diverse works such as "Ser susurro" by Saioa Olmo, a series of plant-books that whisper with advice or warning for the beings that will inhabit the planet in 200 years. Each user must take care of this particular hybrid plant and will be able to add their whispers to the existing ones, therefore it is a participatory work. or the work of Victoria Ascaso , an artist who questions our relationship with everyday technology and how these devices mediate our affective relationships.
Artoteka can be an alternative in times of pandemic for a sector that is currently in a very unstable moment. “Obviously we do not believe that Artoteka can be a solution to such a complex situation; Many things are needed, such as a greater appreciation of the social value of culture, better working conditions for artists and cultural managers, greater capacity for collective organization, etc. but it does propose a way to innovate in terms of ways to spread art, and one more possibility of receiving income for the artists both through the loan and the mediation activities they carry out”.