​Cultural Cooperation Programme signed between Spain and China for period 2018-2021

"We all benefit from cultural exchanges", says Íñigo Méndez de Vigo

2018.1.29

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The programme signed provides for agreements in the fields of the visual arts, cinema, animation and videogames, experiences and successful programmes in the fields of libraries and museums, editorial cooperation - particularly in translation - the exchange of exhibitions and safeguards for copyright, among others.

Íñigo Méndez de Vigo highlighted "the growing interest from the Chinese public in genuinely Spanish cultural activities, such as flamenco dancing, our architecture and our gastronomy, but also in more specific initiatives of great importance for cultural exchanges, such as the incorporation of the Royal Theatre of Madrid in the International Alliance of Silk Road Theatres"

Furthermore, the Spanish minister mentioned the importance of the historical heritage of the two countries by asserting that "China and Spain are two of the countries with the most historical heritage, behind only Italy, and hence, for that reason, one of the goals of this agreement is the exchange of specialists in research, conservation, restoration and the management of cultural heritage".

"Something which also has a very important link to tourism for both our countries. This seems particularly important to us due to the significance of our sector, its knock-on economic effects and the responsibility this represents for Spain as the second most visited country in the world, behind only France".

Spain will schedule a broad range of activities

Within the Cooperation Programme, Spain has already established a series of activities of great interest and repercussion, such as:

  • The holding of the Third Gaudi World Congress in Beijing. This follows on from the second edition held in Shanghai in 2016.
  • The organisation of activities and exhibitions on the grand masters - Gaudi, Dali and Tapiés - and other Spanish contemporary artists with large-scale works in public spaces.
  • The development of a symposium in September 2018 on the figure, intellectual work and legacy of Diego de Pantoja, with collaboration from the Spanish Embassy and the Cervantes Institute in Beijing, and support from various Chinese academic institutions, such as the Academy of Social Sciences, the University of Foreign Studies, the Hanban (Confucius Institute) and the University of Jinan.
  • In the field of cinema, the agreement on cinema co-productions signed in 2014, currently in force, will be maintained, which has already undertaken six co-production projects. During the validity of this programme, the two parties will hold a cinema cycle in the other country and will also select respective films to take part in the cinema festivals held in the other country.
  • The National Ballet of Spain will go on tour in China with its productions "Zaguán & Alento" and "Suite Sevilla" in the months of September and October 2018.
  • And, in turn, the Reina Sofia National Museum and Art Centre has programmed a retrospective view of the filmmaker Wang Bing in the months of October and November 2018. This retrospective will be the first of its kind in Spain and will include the presence of this artist at its presentation, thus constituting a cultural event of the first order.

Non official translation