Fundación´ace para el Arte Contemporáneo opens the call for emerging Argentinian artists from all over the federal territory –who work with traditional and digital printmaking (both in serial and variable editions), printed art or expanded field graphic practices / installations– to participate in OPEN Buenos Aires, a professionalization event that includes an exhibition of their works, mentoring by guest curators, demonstrations for the public, a networking day, and a round table, which will be opening to the public from August 5th to 7th.

OPEN Buenos Aires –organized jointly by Fundación´ace para el Arte Contemporáneo and the Arthazi/FIG Bilbao Association of Spain– is part of a larger event: FIG Bilbao’s OPEN PORTFOLIO which has been held in the city of Bilbao since 2014. With its landing in Buenos Aires, this 9th Edition of the OPEN PORTFOLIO FIG, International Encounter of Emerging Printmaking, becomes even more international by celebrating two independent in-person editions: one in Buenos Aires, the OPEN BUENOS AIRES (exclusively for Argentinian artists) and the other in Bilbao, the OPEN PORTFOLIO FIG (for Spanish and international artists).

OPEN BUENOS AIRES will inhabit the impressive Casa de la Cultura-La Prensa building (in the same spaces where the print workshops of La Prensa newspaper used to be) during a week of intense programming, in which the activities will be carried out both for the artists (such as mentoring, portfolio review, professional advice on assembly, networking, etc.), and for the public (such as exhibition of the artists’ works, workshops and demonstrations given by the artists themselves, and talks).

Of all the applications we receive in this first phase, 16 artists will be selected to participate in these sessions in August. On August 7th, the last day of the OPEN Buenos Aires event, an international jury will select: four artists who will participate in the final phase of the program and will travel to Bilbao to exhibit at the FIG Bilbao XI Edition from November 24th to 27th, 2022; two artists to attend the residency offered by the CIEC Foundation of Galicia, Spain in 2023; one artist to attend a residency at the Basque bioDesign Center lab in Bilbao, Spain; and another for a residency at Fundación´ace’s ´acePIRAR Artist-in-Residency International Program.

Likewise, the artists who travel to Bilbao in November will also be able to compete for another residency at the CIEC Foundation and an exhibition space at FIGBilbao 2023. Finally, the selected artists will become part of the traveling exhibition Open Itinera, an exhibition program with multiple venues in the territory of the Basque Autonomous Community, which arises with the firm intention of supporting and further promoting the emerging printmaking work that the Open Portfolio and the FIG Bilbao International Festival of Engraving and Art on Paper has been doing since 2012.

HISTORY OF THE OPEN PORTFOLIO @ FIGBilbao

Open Portfolio was created with the aim of supporting and giving visibility to the work of new printmaking talents and promoting their professional career. This event is a platform for the promotion, dissemination and professionalization of emerging creators. Throughout these nine years, Open Portfolio has given space to more than 150 artists from all continents.

Between August 5th and 7th, 2022, we held the OPEN Buenos Aires: International Encounter for Emerging Printmakers at the Casa de la Cultura—La Prensa Building in the City of Buenos Aires. Throughout its 3 days of opening to the public, the selected artists shared with the public not only their works in traditional and contemporary graphic and printmaking techniques, but also offered workshops, demos, participatory practices and open talks for the public.

OPEN Buenos Aires is a professionalization event for emerging artists and for the dissemination of graphic and printmaking practices for the local public, whether specialized or without previous knowledge in the field of graphics, in particular, or contemporary art, in general. As part of the professionalization of the artists, on Sunday, August 7th, a portfolio review was carried out by a jury specialized in graphics and engraving, both traditional and contemporary.

The portfolio review was carried out by the national pre-selection jury, made up of Juan Canavesi (Córdoba), Adriana Moracci (CABA) and Ali Valente (La Plata), who over 3 hours offered portfolio reviews, feedback, criticism of works, feedback and professional guidance to both OPEN Buenos Aires artists and independent artists who previously signed up to participate in this free activity. Once the portfolio review was completed, the open conference on contemporary graphics was launched, with the participation of David Arteagoitia (Bilbao, Basque Country, Director of the FIG Open Portfolio), Pedro Galilea (Salamanca, Spain, Vice President and Director FundaciónCIEC), Iratoi Retolaza (Bilbao, Basque Country, guest artist-in-residency and part of the Basque bioDesign Center team), and was moderated by Alicia Candiani (Director of OPEN and Fundación´ace).