Fine Arts Association to launch No Cuesta d’Enero today

The Fine Arts Association will launch their fourth annual No Cuesta d’Enero programme tonight in an initiative which fosters the local creative scene during January.

Events will be held every evening this week from today to Friday at the Fine Arts Gallery.

Fine Arts Association member Joseph Alecio described how No Cuesta d’Enero forms part of a handful of major events held by the Association, which includes poetry nights, the Affordable Art Show, Callarte an event that melds art and cuisine, and the student graduate showcase.

No Cuesta d’Enero will begin tonight at 6.30pm with an opening performance by the Movement Collective titled the Memory Project 2, which is free and open to the public.

The Memory Project 2 is a performance where through movement and acting, the cast portrays the effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Mr Alecio added that a Tarkovsky film will be screened called Andrei Rublev. This film is a 1960s Soviet historical drama.

On Tuesday, talks will be held as from 7pm. The first from Ambrose Avellano on his book titled ‘El Niño Tiene Algo’.

The second talk will be delivered by Jacqima Rios who is hosting a question and answer session on her upcoming solo exhibition titled ‘The Art of Becoming’.

An outdoor projection will also be held of a piece by Alan Perez called ‘Conflict Chaos and Reality’.

On Wednesday, Stella Bosano who recently won GBC’s makeup artistry competition ‘Face Off’ will be holding a body art workshop and photography session at 7pm.

Mr Alecio encourages photographers to attend this free event and no pre-booking is required.

On Thursday, a free life drawing event featuring musicians Rafa and Maria on violin and cello will be held from 7pm to 9pm.

The programme will close on Friday with a closing solo violin performance by Maria at 7pm.

Mr Alecio said the interest in the programme has been encouraging.

“I've seen like people are expecting it,” he said.

“That was one of the things we wanted. We wanted people to expect it and they are.”

“We're getting questions like, is No Cuesta happening? On another side, we also get artists asking to collaborate, and asking is anything going on? Is there anything I can do?”

Mr Alecio described how this has shown that the event is anticipated and enjoyed by artists.

He added that the event is a good way to kickstart the year after the festive season when habits tend to be lost.

“We tend to lose routine. No Cuesta de Enero is a way to initiate back into the routine of what an artist does, which is create stuff,” he said.

The event is sponsored by Gibraltar Cultural Services and all the events are open and free to the public. Mr Alecio encourages people to just turn up.