Centro Botín was created to host the artistic and cultural project of Fundación Botín. The Art Program focuses on supporting contemporary art through grants and workshops; on research into drawing practices throughout history; and on the study of relevant and innovative aspects of the great masters of art history. These lines of activity are made visible and accessible to all audiences at Centro Botín through exhibitions and publications and through Fundación Botín’s art collection, which faithfully reflects this program.
Since its opening in 2017, Centro Botín has continued and strengthened the Art Program that Fundación Botín has been developing since the 1980s, with the guidance of the Art Advisory Committee, currently chaired by Vicente Todolí and composed of Paloma Botín, Udo Kittelmann, Manuela Mena, Mª José Salazar, and Bárbara Rodríguez Muñoz, director of exhibitions and the collection at Centro Botín. It is a dynamic and innovative program that involves artists, curators, institutions, and professionals to inspire and encourage all visitors to engage with art and creativity through its exhibitions, activities, and publications.
Centro Botín offers 2,500 square meters of exhibition space across two galleries presenting:
Fundación Botín launched a non-academic training programme in the 1990s, which has become an essential reference in the field of artistic practices. Every year, it convenes the Art Grants, the Curatorial and Museum Management Grants, and the Art Workshops.
• The Art Grants were launched in 1993 to support national and international artists in the development of their training, research, and production. The jury changes annually and includes critics, curators, professionals, and artists, preferably former grant recipients. Grant holders continue to be associated with the Art Programme through exhibitions, catalogues, and Fundación Botín Collection.
• Established in 2005, the Curatorial Grants provide comprehensive theoretical and practical training for Spanish professionals in the field of contemporary art.
• Since 1994, the Art Workshops have been led by internationally established artists, who select participants from an open call – including emerging artists and other art professionals – to share practices, research, and experiences. Held at Fundación Botín headquarters in Santander, the workshops have welcomed over 500 participants, fostering new connections between local and international artists.
Research is present in every line of activity within the Art Programme at Centro Botín. Grant recipients draw on this open and flexible support to initiate or deepen their research; artists leading the Art Workshops engage with the local context and produce new works for exhibition; and curators contribute their expertise and perspectives to exhibition projects and publications.
The two main areas of research focus are:
In 2006, a systematic research programme was initiated to research and disseminate knowledge on drawing within Spanish art, materialising in catalogues raisonnés and monographic exhibitions. Collaboration with renowned experts and a large research team has allowed the completion of projects on Eduardo Rosales (1836–1873); Antonio del Castillo (1616–1668); Pablo Gargallo (1881–1934); Alonso Cano (1601–1667); Mariano Salvador Maella (1739–1819); José Gutiérrez Solana (1886–1945); Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682); and José de Madrazo (1781–1859).
This research project, which focused on major Spanish masters from the 17th to the 20th century, culminated in the inaugural exhibition at Centro Botín, Lightness and Boldness: Drawings by Goya (2017), and the 2019 publication of one of the volumes of the Goya Catalogue Raisonné, produced in collaboration with the Museo del Prado.
Drawing continues to be a priority at Centro Botín, encompassing both contemporary and historical international artists with significant drawing bodies. Examples include the exhibitions The Silent Scream: Millares on Paper; Juan Muñoz. Drawings 1982–2000; Silvia Bächli: Partitura and Marisol: When Things Are Just Beginning.
Fundación Botín is also dedicated to research on the great masters of art history, revealing significant aspects of their creative processes and legacies and opening up new perspectives. These exhibitions are developed with external specialists and in collaboration with public and private institutions. Notable examples include Miró: Sculptures 1928–1982, supported by the Successió Miró; Ibero Picasso in collaboration with the Musée National Picasso-Paris; Calder Stories, in partnership with the Calder Foundation; and Maruja Mallo: Mask and Compass, co-produced with the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.
Fundación Botín Art Collection reflects the evolution of its Art Programme and the institution’s trajectory over more than forty years. Specialising in contemporary art, the collection includes works in a wide range of media: painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, video, installation, sound, and performance.
Since 1993, the growing collection has brought together works by the directors of the Art Workshops, internationally established artists such as Miroslaw Balka, Tacita Dean, Carlos Garaicoa, Mona Hatoum, Joan Jonas, Jannis Kounellis, Julie Mehretu, Antoni Muntadas, Juan Uslé, Cristina Iglesias, Martin Creed, Thomas Demand, Damián Ortega, Roni Horn, Tino Sehgal, Shilpa Gupta, Shimabuku and Cooking Sections; as well as works by artists who have received Fundación Botín Art Grants such as Carlos Bunga, Cabello/Carceller, Alice Dos Reis, Eva Fàbregas, Sandra Gamarra, Irene Kopelman and Asier Mendizabal. All these works coexist to form a diverse mosaic of concepts and trajectories that, across generations and differing perspectives, collectively bear witness to the art of our time.
Published in Spanish and English, the Art Programme catalogues are illustrated with works from the exhibitions and include essays by specialists in art and related disciplines, with contributions from authors such as Philip Hoare, Manthia Diawara & Terri Geis, Cecilia Fajardo Hill, Yayo Herrero, Johanna Hedva, Chus Martínez, Carmen María Machado, Quinn Latimer, Mario Vargas Llosa, Isabel de Naverán, and Peio Aguirre, who provide in-depth analysis of the artists’ work and its contexts.
To ensure broad international distribution, the catalogues are co-published with publishers such as Bom Dia Books, La Fábrica, Mousse Publishing, Mack Books, and This Side Up, among others.
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