Attention artists! The Madrid City Council and Foro de Empresas por Madrid are launching today the urban art contest in Colonia Marconi, in Villaverde (Madrid) for national and international artists. Here we tell you everything about it!
What is the contest about?
The Madrid City Council, through the Área de Gobierno de Economía, Innovación y Empleo and in the framework of the platform “Foro de Empresas por Madrid” managed through the Oficina de Partenariado y Marca Madrid presents the Marconi Urban Art Contest that kicks off on April 12 and where a total of 7 new artistic interventions will be selected: 5 large format murals and 2 sculptural installations in the Marconi Industrial Park.
What is Marconi?
Marconi’s Industrial Park is an area with mostly industrial and, to a lesser extent, residential use, within the Colonia Marconi – located in the district of Villaverde, in the south of Madrid. This, like many other areas in Madrid, has been hit by the effects of the recent health crisis. The contest seeks not only the recognition of urban and contemporary artists, but also to contribute to the territorial rebalancing of our city by promoting cultural activities and boosting the economy activity of an area in the south of Madrid that offers great opportunities.
Who can participate?
Any spanish or foreign individual, natural or legal, as well as temporary joint ventures, may participate in the competition as long as they meet the criteria of economic solvency and experience required in the rules (sections 5, 6 and 9).
What are the prizes I am eligible for?
The Marconi Contest has 7 winners:
- 1 winner, for mural intervention of 400m2: €25,000 + IVA.
- 2 winners, for a 200m2 mural intervention: 15.000€ + IVA.
- 2 winners, for mural intervention of 100m2: 10.000€ + IVA.
- 2 winners, per sculptural intervention: 30.000€ + IVA.
Those who do not achieve the condition of winner, but who have been finalists in the second phase, will be remunerated as a prize in the amount of €1,240. The total number of semi-finalists will be 20 people.
What is the theme of the contest?
The projects submitted to the contest must revolve around the concept of the “New Future”, encompassing values such as solidarity, equality, sustainability, respect and social responsibility. The contest is inspired by what our world should look like after the covid-19 pandemic, together with the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the UN; where the construction of a better future as a “human family” was put as a priority.
What are the phases of participation?
In the first instance, a selection process of participants will be carried out according to the criteria of economic solvency and experience required in the bases (section 9), which will be passed by all those applicants who meet these solvency criteria.
Then, the participants will have to send anonymously a motivation letter, a maximum of 6 urban art projects (either in artistic wall or urban sculpture version) carried out in the last 3 years.
In this second phase, a jury will anonymously select the 20 finalists who will pass to the last phase. Of these, 15 will be for the mural interventions and 5 for the sculptural interventions. The participants will then go on to the last phase where they will be able to present a minimum of one proposal and a maximum of five for the mural interventions (one for each of the five possible locations), and a minimum of one and a maximum of two for the sculptural interventions (one for each of the two possible locations). It will be after this evaluation when the 7 winners will be declared.
If any participant wishes and meets the solvency requirements, he/she may present both alternatives (murals and sculptures), they are not mutually exclusive. In that case and if he/she is the winner in both alternatives, the prizes corresponding to both would be added together.
All documentation must be submitted in person or by mail and in Spanish.
You will find all the documentation for consultation in the Boletín Oficial of the Madrid City Council, in the Plataforma de Contratación del Sector Público (PLACSP) as well as on the website of the Foro de Empresas por Madrid.
To see all the information you can access this link.
To start the application process, click on this link and follow the steps that you will see on page 4-5 of the “Handbook for participation” document.
The deadline for submitting the documentation required to pass the first phase is 20 working days from the day of publication of the announcement on Monday, April 12 before 2:00 pm.
The estimated date for the intervention will be September 2021, subject to change.