PALMA. Conference on Art, Education, and Teaching
Mapfre Fiundation, Madrid
Let us meet in the shade of a palm tree – weary, yes, but ready to celebrate despite that fatigue. Those of us working in education hve been carrying the weight of the entire academic year on our shoulders. Whether in schools, high schools, universities or art spaces, we are shaped by questions, some shared, others unique to each of us. One by one, we’ll let go of them and lay them out on the ground, to see what my questions and yours have to say to one another.
There are also a few responses: PALMA has now held three editions, serving as a meeting point for teachers, educators, mediators and artists interested in the practice and reflection on education, both throughout the academic year and during its ‘Descansa’ (‘Rest’) gatherings.
Fundación MAPFRE’s Sala Recoletos has been a space for play and reflection since 2023. We have climbed and descended its stairs, pondered with Chagall, searched for messages in the city with Facundo de Zuviría, and let our dreams run free with Leonora Carrington. We have pressed our ear against the wall shared by the art centre and the María Guerrero Theatre, so close and yet so far away. We have joined the Menos lectivas collective in their demonstrations for quality public education. Weh ave taken a Swedish lesson with Stromhölm. Jaime Vallaure and his luminous absurdity, Lucrecia Masson and her cows, Oihana Altube and her joints, Amalia Fernández and her mindfulness, Paco Graco and his posters, Marco Frías and his libertarian songs, Eddi Circa and her glimmer in the gloom, Cris Blanco and her wormholes, Taller Placer and their right to laziness, and many more artists have passed through here. Above all, nearly two hundred teachers have brought the programme to life over the years.
For this fourth edition, the palm aims to become a ‘palm grove’: that is, to come together and reflect alongside other institutions, agents and teachers from different parts of Spain who share similar interests, concerns and aspirations. We have invited Tabakalera, Centro Huarte, La Panera, the Cerezales Foundation and the María José Jove Foundation to bring their questions together with ours. In Donostia, Pamplona, Lleida, León and A Coruña, other groups of teachers, mediators and artists have been gathering around the ‘fire’ of education. Irakasle, Artikertuz, VACA, Escuela mediada, Lindero, the SPEAV teacher training course and Encaixa’t are just some of the programmes where art and education converge to enrich teacher training.
We have formed an organising committee which includes, in addition to the educator or curator from the cultural institution, a teacher actively involved in these programmes. In this way, we aim to maintain a two-way flow: from the art centre to the teachers, and from the teachers to the art centre.
What kind of education do we want? What does it mean to educate from within an art centre? Is it different from a school or a secondary school? And what about the setting -a big city like Madrid, a provincial capital like Lleida, or a village like Cerezales del Condado? What territory do we share? How do we, as mediators, educators and teachers, continue to develop our own learning? What kind of teacher training do we practise within a cultural institution? How can we put your expectations – and mine – on the table? What do you want to teach? What do you want to learn? What role do discourse, practice and manual work play? What happens when we experiment together and conflict arises? How do we sustain the commitment of a group of teachers in weary societies?
These are some of the questions we have been asking ourselves over recent months, and which we will address together throughout the event.
PALMA will take place at Fundación MAPFRE (Paseo Recoletos, 23):
• Monday 29 June (4.30 pm – 8 pm)
• Tuesday 30 June (10.30 am – 4 pm)
The event is free of charge and lunch will be provided on Tuesday 30 June.
The programme will be structured around workshops facilitated by all the organisations, mediators and teachers involved in organising it.
Following the event, work will begin on a publication documenting these diverse educational experiences involving art, schools and teachers.
To register, please email Eva Garrido del Saz at eva@hablarenarte.com, providing your full name, occupation or área of interest in the event, and any dietary restrictions.
Palma (2026) is an event organised by hablarenarte (Carlos Almela, Eva Garrido del Saz and Mamen Adeva) and Rocío Herrero Riquelme (Fundación MAPFRE), in collaboration with the education teams at Tabakalera, Centro Huarte, La Panera, Fundación Cerezales and Fundación María José Jove.
The following people have participated in and co-designed the event: Itziar Imaz (Tabakalera) and Andrea Arrizabalaga (artaziak), Roser Sanjuan (La Panera), Carla Roca (Generalitat de Catalunya) and Claudia Kiessling (teacher at ZER Riu Corb), Luis Martínez Campos (FCAYC), Rosabel Velázquez (FCAYC), Beatriz Blanco Fontao (IES Vadinia), Alba Cacheda (FMJJ) and Flora Mato (teacher at EEI Donramiro), Betisa Ojanguren (Centro Huarte) and Marte Bidador (teacher at IES Sangüesa Sierra de Leyre BHI).
