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From October 5 to 30, artists Karla Tobar (b. 1981, Quito, Ecuador) and Alain Urrutia (b. 1981, Bilbao, Spain) participated in an intensive cultural exploration of New York art organizations. The exchange gave the artists a unique opportunity to foster international professional relationships with artists, educators, curators, and creative practitioners working in New York. “When I applied to participate in this program in New York, there were many reasons for a young artist to be interested, but mainly to meet and have intellectual exchanges with people from the art world,” Urrutia said. “This program promotes cultural and artistic exchange between two Basque artists and their New York counterparts in order to create a network of artists and institutions that could provide a clearer view of New York´s art scene,” Tobar noted.

Participating institutions included Artsy, Dieu Donné, The Drawing Center, the High Line, International Studio and Curatorial Program, The Kitchen, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Madison Square Park Conservancy, Mana Contemporary, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Pioneer Works, Queens Museum, SculptureCenter, and Socrates Sculpture Park. The artists also met with Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum staff from departments such as Conservation, Curatorial, Education, and Exhibition Design to learn about the inner workings of an art museum.

The annual Basque Artist Program will take place every October and is coordinated by Geaninne Gutiérrez-Guimarães, Assistant Curator, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Read more about the Basque Artist Program on the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s website.