Metáfora, Barcelona:
Metáfora is an international art school situated in an old factory building in the centre of Barcelona, capital of the Catalan region in Spain, on the northeast Mediterranean coast. Metáfora is an international centre of Contemporary Art and Art-therapy, offering diploma courses and activities of both disciplines. Students come from many different countries, with an average of 30 - 35 students each year.
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Our School:
In practice we operate as if we were two different schools, Metáfora, Tallers d'Art and Metáfora, Tallers d'Artteràpia. Metáfora's school space is around 850 square metres, split in two studio-buildings joined by a small courtyard. For a long time the location was used by the Catalan National Theatre for rehearsals, and this gives Metáfora a wonderful and inspiring mix of industrial aesthetic and theatrical atmosphere.
The heart of the school is the big hall, where some of the students on the International Workshop have a small personal studio space. Other students have studio spaces in the “new studio”, next to the main building of Metáfora. All the studios have division walls and are equipped with basic furniture and studio easels. We encourage students to make their studio space their own, as it will be "home" for an entire year. There are several spaces for additional use; the Big Hall, “Aula 4”,and the “Yellow Room”. In these spaces students can work on a big scale, in darkness or on temporary installation projects.
Because of its plants and lovely warm atmosphere, the courtyard is one of the spaces preferred by many students of Metáfora. Here it is possible to work in open air and with materials that require a high degree of ventilation. Metáfora does not have the technical facilities of a big university or public institution, but every year we extend our work-facilities and our recourses grow.
The International Workshop Diploma Program:
The International Workshop is a one-year, full-time diploma course, designed for young artists and students of Fine Art or Design. Tuition is in English. The in-house tutors at Metáfora are available to students for advice on materials and techniques, and for in-depth supervision of personal work. Visiting tutors at Metáfora are artists and professionals who make a living from their artistic production.
- Concept: The idea behind the International Workshop is to offer quality tutoring, creating an ongoing dialogue between young artists of any nationalities, and the particularity of the course is exactly its international atmosphere.
- Methodology: The methodology of the course does not simply consist in teaching techniques or providing students with knowledge about materials and ways of working. At Metáfora, we believe that the practice of contemporary art requires time for reflection and debate, and most of our programme revolves around the term "artistic intention". Our students are expected to posses a large amount of self-discipline and maturity, as well as some basic knowledge regarding different techniques.
During free studio time each student works on individual projects, choosing materials and working techniques according to his/her own interest. Thus, while some students can be found working with photography or painting, their fellow students may be working on sculpture, fashion design, performance or installation-making.
- Student Profile: Because of the way we teach at Metáfora, this course should not be considered ‘beginners' level. Our students come from a variety of backgrounds, but we expect them all to have some previous experience from other art courses.
The profile of a typical student on the International Workshop is that of a young person aged between 19 and 35 years of age, holder of a degree in Fine Art, Design, Architecture or similar. It could also be a person with some experience in art (min. A-levels) who is preparing entry to higher art or design education (graduate or post-graduate). Generally Metáfora attracts people from all over the world, who wish to explore the culture of another country as well as their own creative potential.
- Projects: Approximately every 5 weeks we present a new project or working theme for the students to work on. The idea is for students to spend most of their free studio time to work on projects with relevance to this theme. The project titles are broad enough to allow the student to work freely within their own field of interest.
- Exhibitions: There are two scheduled end-of-term exhibitions at the Metáfora each year; An open studio exhibition in the middle of December and an end-of-year exhibition in June. The exhibitions are open to the public and invites, catalogues and a special web page are produced by the students on both occasions.
- Portfolios: All students are encouraged to pursue further studies in Fine Arts or Design, if that is their intention after joining Metáfora, and we are happy to help throughout the application procedure. The fabrication of a portfolio or a set of works for this occasion is very important, and we normally start discussing its contents in the beginning of the course. However, it is our point of view that a portfolio is directly dependant on the course for which the student applies.
- The “Book”: Side-running with the portfolio, which some students produce for applying to further art education, students on the International workshop produce a “book” of works produced at Metáfora. This “book” should contain photographical documentation of all his/her work, and is produced digitally throughout the year.
Summer Art Workshop:
The Summer Intensive Program is a 2-week studio-based contemporary art program in English, created for students and professionals from the fields of art and design.
Art Therapy
From January 2010, students of the International Workshop can choose an Art Therapy module, in addition to other classes. Students who undertake the entire Art Therapy option will achieve Metáfora's Initial Diploma of Art Therapy, equivalent to a Foundation course in Art Therapy.
Barcelona
Barcelona is a small but famous city on the Mediterranean coast, with a metropolitan presence. Students and professionals from all over the word are attracted to its mix of tradition and contemporary culture, and the city is growing fast to accommodate the changes which modern life requires. The sea and mountains makes it a breathing space for people with different concerns and agendas, an oasis of sun and tourism, and at the same time a place for alternative happenings, underground movements and intellectual events.
Barcelona is the home of a number of important art institutions, and Metáfora ads its grain of salt to a general impression of a European meeting-point for international art-students and artists. It is our intention to give our students an experience, where the city itself and the contacts made between students and collaborators of Metáfora will become a lifelong reference.
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