CUTARTE – a new art gallery for creative people of all ages in Cútar

On 17th of March a new art gallery opens in the village of Cútar with an exhibition by professional artists living in the area. The gallery is a new facility which it is hoped will be used to exhibit the work of all creative people in the community – artists, designers, photographers and craftspeople, both professional and amateur.

The first exhibition will include work by Belén Alacon, Judy Farrar, Jonathan Thornhill. Helén Vigil, Rudy Vigil and Ann Westley

The exhibition will open with drinks and snacks on 17th of March between 6 and 9pm. It will then be open every day until Saturday 24th March. Opening hours are Monday – Friday  17.00- 20.00 Sunday 18th and Saturday 24th 11.00 to 14.00 and 17.00 to 20.00

Entrance is free for all and everyone is very welcome

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Raku firing ceramics doesn't have to be very  complicated:
1. Obtain an old oil barrel. Cut of the top tomake a lid
2. Cover the inside with qvartsfilt (= very heat resistant)
3. Insert your busquit burned and glazed goods (NB use a special glaze for Raku). Heat the inside with gas util the glazes are  completely melted and looks like honey
4. Use a mask. don't breath in the fumes
5. Pick up your goods with a long thong
6. Cover them with hay or sawdust and put a lid on very very quickly
7. Once cooled down, scrubb well
(or 8: come and see us)

ARTE-CENTRAL on the net invites you to view a collection of contemporary art, crafts and design and to meet both emerging and established artists and designers who live and work in Andalucía, in Southern Spain

Art Workshops in Spain, spring and summer 2012 - our best courses one more time:

RAKU Try firing hands-on. Experience the highlights and atmosphere during the burning process. Take part in mini-lectures.  Eat well, and enjoy the magical countryside. 5 days, max 6 participants . Feb 27 -  March 2 , and/or April 9-13, 2012

CONTEMPORARY ART & concrete as an art medium. Casting, mold making, modelling and carving. Site-specific art and local identity, contemporary art, Spanish art today, concrete and fine art. Max 8 participants. 26 June - 2 July, 2012

HELIGHETENS BILDER The Sacred Image (in Swedish only) with Tom Sandqvist. Helighetens bilder är en workshop som syftar till att kombinera teori och konstnärlig praktik utifrån “heligheten” som gemensamt tema. Med utgångspunkt i sju föreläsningar / seminarier om helighetens olika både historiska och samtida uttrycksformer kombineras sedan den teoretiska reflektionen med eget konstnärligt arbete samt studiebesök i kyrkor och i Alhambra. June 14 - 23, 2012

for more info:see webpage  or contact us

LaCultura was established in 2005. We offer courses and workshops in Cultural Studies, Creative Writing, Art and Design (Contemporary Art, Ceramics, Painting, Artists' Books, Concrete, Land Art, Art Theory, and more) and courses in Spanish language.  We bring in only professional teachers from colleges and universities from all over the world. The courses comprise both theory and practical application; lectures, discussions, individual work and advising.  Our groups are small and we give much attention to individual students. We are located in the small historical village of Cútar, hidden in the coastal mountains not far from the sea. Our students usually stay in our hostel.

How to:
5 liters olive oil, old or new. Add 1 kilo caustic soda dissolved in water, add more water. Total amount of water: 5 liters. Stir for one hour. Pour into a form. Let sit over night. Cut. Let sit in a shady place a couple wks. The longer you wait the better the consistency of the soap. If you want a scent, add just before pouring up.
Contrary to what the pictures below illustrates, the caustic soda is very corrosive, and protective clothing, especially gloves and eye protection, is a very good idea. Click below to start slide show.

IN ENGLISH: Just like last year. Workshop in Raku ceramics 27 feb – 2 March or 9-13 April. Try hands-on firing and experience the atmosphere during the burning process and its highlights, participate in mini-lectures, eat well,  and experience the magical nature. The workshops takes place over 5 intensive days at laCultura.cc, our small and personal cultural center in the idyllic village Cútar in the Andalusian coastal mountains, about 35 km east of Malaga, Spain. Instructor Cilla Adlercreutz, Swedish ceramicist and artist, teaches in a variety of technics. In her own studio, and while traveling around the world, Cilla Adlercreutz has since the 1970s developed technics and materials based on ancient traditions and knowledge of minerals.Price: 540 euros / 4950 SEK includes workshop, materials, bed, breakfasts & dinners. excl. travel expenses

EN ESPAÑOL: Primavera 2012 estamos aquí otra vez con: Taller de Rakú en La Axarquía. 27 feb – 2 marzo o 9-13 april. Igual como el año pasado: prueba cocinar y experimenta la atmósfera durante la cocción y su fuego. Participa en las charlas. Disfruta la buena comida y el ambiente mágico. Las talleres tienen lugar durante 5 días intensivos en laCultura.cc, un pequeño y íntimo centro cultural ubicado en pueblo idílico de Cútar en el litoral este de Málaga. Profesora Cilla Adlercreutz, ceramista y artista sueca, enseña varias técnicas. En su taller, como en sus viajes, Cilla Adlercreutz, desde los años 1970, ha desarrollado técnicas y materiales basados en tradiciones y conocimientos antiguos de minerales. Precio incluye talleres, materiales, alojamiento, desayunos y cenas, excluyendo los gastos de viaje.

Más informacíon/ more information 

We have spent many many Thursday evenings in front of Spanish TV. Through the eyes of the middle class Alcántara family, we have experienced Spain’s day-by-day transformation from Franco fascism to modern democracy. Simple, honest, at times funny, at times tragic, without exaggerating characters or situations,  and with great acting and  great script writing - this is TV at it's best.

Cuéntame cómo pasó is a Spanish television series set during the last years of Francoist rule, and the transition to democracy in Spain. It has been broadcast by the Spanish public TV channel TVE1, since 2001.

Relying on a combination of micro and macrohistory, the series recounts the experiences of a middle class family, the Alcántara, during the last years of Francisco Franco and the beginning of the Spanish Transition, and is both a chronology and a socio-political drama of the time.

The series was created to celebrate the first 25 years since the transition and its didactic spirit is clearly evident in some of the episodes. It includes documentary interviews with historical figures of the era, such as those concerned by the assassination of the then Prime Minister Carrero Blanco or the death of Franco.

From its first episode, broadcast on September 13, 2001, Cuéntame has reflected changes in Spain since 1968 (it starts in April 1968.) In December 2008, TVE and Ganga Group announced that the series, in its 10th season, had achieved very good audience levels, and would be renewed for up to 3 more seasons, with the storyline moving firmly into the 80s and the “Movida madrileña”.

The Alcántara's are a middle class family who live in Madrid, Antonio (the father), Mercedes (the mother), Ines, Toni, Carlos and Maria, are the members of that family, who live with the grandmother, called Herminia. Other Characters like Cervan (a man who sells the newspaper in a little shop) or Desi (who is the best friend of Antonio) represent the typical Spanish society in the last years of Franco and the beginning of the Spanish Transition (1975). (source: partly wikipedia)

And you can still watch all the old episodes on RTVE.ES

A couple of years ago, in looking for literature on Andalucía and its history, we came across  "The Ornament of the World" by María Rosa Menocal. The Ornament of the World" describes an era in medieval Spain from 750 to 1492 when the three monotheistic faiths clashed, intermingled, and produced a rich, tolerant culture. We were intrigued and happy to find how the writer had created a dramatic story through a series of vignettes that evoked the differing cultural epochs of the 700-year period and introduced influential figures from the three faiths, and managed to bring to life a time and place largely overlooked in Western histories.

The writer, Maria Rosa Menocal, is professor of Spanish and Portuguese and Director of the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale University. In trying to find out if the book is still in print, since we really would like to recommend it (it is!), we found out it also will be a documentary film. As soon as it's out we'll do our best to let you now. But until then, please don't miss this reading if you are interested in Andalucía and its history.

Welcome to harvest  OLIVE OIL in Andalusía, Málaga 

How are ancient olive trees harvested? How is olive oil made? What are some great ways to use olive oil?
A guided workshop; description of olive varietals, care and maintanence of olive trees, instruction and participation in olive havesting, great traditional food, olive pressing and oil production, soap making and much more.

490 € /person  (@ 4 guests)
Included in the fee (5 days):
Transport from Málaga, accommodations, local transport, guidning, history, olive picking, visit to the cooperative press, breakfast, tapas and home cooked Andalusian welcome dinner. Other meals: self catering or restaurant/bar.

DATES:  choose dates between 10 nov - 10 mars. We also organize 1-, 2-, och 3-day workshops – or, you can extend you visit with as many day as you like for a little extra fee – booking allowing.

History – havest – food. In Andalusia olives have been cultivated for more than 3000 years. Spain has more olive trees and produces more olive oil than any other country in the world, and of course with the highest quality. In the small, authentic village of Cútar the methods utilized to cultivate olive are still very traditional, from family owned ancient groves. read more. Accomodations in 2-, or 3, bed rooms at laCultura, our small intimate hostel in the middle of the village.

CONTACT US ABOUT YOUR DESIRED DATES and INQUIRY OF AVAILABILTY     Let’s go / laCultura

day 1
18.00  Transfer from Málaga/airport
19.00  Arrival to Cútar                  
20.30  Home-cooked
Andalusian  dinner
22.00  Discussion on olives and local environment.

day 2
9.30  Short hike to olive groves
- Andalusian campesino breakfast,
- About varietals and harvest
- group work
14.00  Lunch at local restaurant
16.00  guided excursion/hike
20.30  Wine, tapas and conversation in Cútar

day 3
9.00 Breakfast
10.00  Hike to groves, group work
14.00  Lunch at local restaurant
15.30  Tour of medieval Vélez-Málaga
20.30  Wine, tapas and conversation in Cútar

day 4         
9.30  Hike to olive groves
- -Andalusian breakfast
-group work
12.00  Delivery of olives to the press and coop Los Romanes14.00  Lunch at local restaurant, excursion or hike
21.30 To the groves to burn prunings, better than fireworks

day 5
Closing breakfast
Departure to Málaga

The above schdedule is preliminary. For example weather we cannot control, which can mean changes.  All meals included except for those at restaurants, which are always quite reasonable.