A new group of artists have recently been staying in Mojácar, each on a two week scholarship courtesy of the local Council and the Valparaíso Foundation. They included; the Spanish painter, María Salmerón Huertas, Puerto Rican visual artists, Mario Marzan and Roxana Pérez and Rafael Ruiz, a photographer and sculptor.
María Salmerón Huertas, from Granada, is a graduate of Fine Arts who is an expert in art-mediation which looks into developing art as a form of social inclusion. She currently has a workshop in Albaicín, where she works on her specialist art therapy, whilst keeping her studio doors open to all artists, especially those with limited opportunities to exhibit.
During her time at Valparaíso, she has been preparing her show at the Festival de Pintura Sicodélica in Barcelona. Roxana Perez and Mario Marzán, also share with her an involvement in the more creative field of art and the prospect of all sharing cultures and ideas was one of their main reasons for coming to the Valparaíso Foundation. Meanwhile, the photographer Rafaél Ruiz Ruiz, also from Granada, has taken advantage of his time in Mojácar to work on some new artistic sculptural forms.
Raquel Belmonte, Mojácar Culture Councillor, stressed the importance of the scholarships and, the high standard of the invited artists which was demonstrated once again, by the work presented by this most recent group. One shining success is the poet Ben Clark, who took up an earlier Foundation scholarship, who has been recently awarded the prestigious 2017 Loewe Poetry Prize.
However for now, the scholarships are over for another year until they resume on January 15th 2018, with more international visitors to the town, representing all areas of art world.
