More than Day Jobs. 21 Districts

Eduardo Úrculo Cultural Centre, Madrid

An invitation to discuss about what feeds artists and how it nourishes their creative practice

May 17, at 12:00 p.m., at the Eduardo Úrculo Cultural Center (Tetuán)

21Districts: Culture on a Slow Burn

How do artists make a living? How many of them, despite their academic degrees, creative talents, or vocation, work in many other and varied fields to earn a living? Would it be possible, however, to mobilize the professional peculiarities of artistic practice to include other occupations under that category?

More than Day Jobs is based on the hypothesis of the artist as a person who enters the traditional labor market without neglecting their creative work. The activity, in fact, features several participants who consciously use their occupations as cooks, furniture restorers, and chauffeurs as part of their creative practice. Rather than speaking about the artists' working conditions in a self-referential manner, or simply portraying the problems of work in contemporary societies, they use their own circumstances to rethink the relationship between paid work, vital needs, and artistic practice.

Contributions and activations led by:

· Amanda Alonso del Río, artist and chef. In both her native Havana and Madrid, she has combined the study and practice of art and cooking. In addition to her current work at a Madrid restaurant in Chamberí, she participates in various artistic events, designing catering and food-related activities.

· Youssef Taki, artist and researcher. At the same time, he has worked in a carpentry shop, built windmills, designed warehouses, and visited numerous flea markets. In each of these experiences, his interest has focused on discarded objects and the stories behind them that can be recovered, whether by extracting an image from a secondhand cell phone memory card, rescuing a page from an old book, an abandoned object, or a technical drawing forgotten in a drawer.

· Bryan Bucheli began studying Fine Arts in Ecuador and moved to Madrid eight years ago to work as a driver and domestic worker. She is now about to complete her studies at the Complutense University with a research project that includes performances and paintings reflecting her daily activities in spaces marked by both privilege and precariousness.

Curated by hablarenarte

Registration is required to participate in this event, as seating is limited.