How to reflect on space and time through texts, drawings and dance at the ‘contamination’ session led by Cristina Celada, iN RESiDENCE at the Institut Martí Pous secondary school

The secondary school shares a space with other cultural and educational facilities in the Fabra i Coats factory and the neighbourhood, boosting the size of its artistic production.

Cristina Celada defines herself as a multidisciplinary artist: “I like to mix things up in my stage practice, not just for the sake of it, but because sometimes there are tools that just can’t be refused; they must be integrated and incorporated into the work.” Perhaps because of this, the ‘contamination’ session she prepared in conjunction with the 3rd-year students at the Institut Martí Pous included three distinct and interconnected actions: drawing, the reading of some texts, and body movement.

The entire activity was held at the Joe Forga Space in the Ateneu L’Harmonia, one of the cultural centres managed by the community which coexist in the Fabra i Coats factory building. In this hall, where they have already developed several sessions, the youngsters received about twenty teachers and surprised them with various artistic interventions. Also present was Carme Hoyas, Director of the Sant Andreu Pedagogical Resource Centre and of the Centre for Artistic Resources of Barcelona (CRAB in its Catalan acronym), a facility that often participates in the ‘contamination’ sessions which take place during the month of February.

Firstly, from the beginning of the activity, some of the students did various drawings on a long roll of paper hung on the wall. These free creations accompanied the rest of the actions over the course of the ‘contamination’ session which lasted approximately 45 minutes.

At the same time, several students read a whole series of texts with a common thread aloud: the reflection on space and time, especially at the secondary school. In this regard, through their readings, the youngsters emphasised the fact that their secondary school is located in an old factory, with almost 200 years of history, and where mostly women worked. This led them to draw a parallel with the present day of their educational centre, where they must also follow some rules and where students spend a good part of their lives. For this reason, in many cases, the texts defended the youngsters’ desire to feel that they are the masters of their own time and not to turn their daily lives into a life planned out in their diaries.

Thirdly, the ‘contamination’ session accompanied all these reflections, readings and drawings with various body movement and dance sequences performed by some of the students.

Finally, teachers intervened to be questioned by the actions, given that inevitably, they felt part of this educational space which imposes rules and schedules on their students. The teachers were also interested in the creation process with Cristina Celada to understand how her students had come to express their research on space and time in an artistic way. The youngsters response revolved around the work they have been carrying out since October and how much they appreciate the iN RESiDENCE programme, as it provides them with a space in which they can express themselves freely as part of their routine.

This residence is mediated (curatorship and coordination) by La Poderosa, a group led by Mònica Muntaner and Bea Fernàndez, who have been part of the iN RESiDENCE team since its 10th edition (2018-2019).

You can follow the creation process and all the activities led by Cristina Celada, iN RESiDENCE at the Institut Martí Pous secondary school in the project’s blog.