An art-focused book club led by Andrea Barcia, a cultural communicator. Conceived as an accessible alternative to the dense, encyclopedic academic essays typical of the field. The program brings together books that explore the art world from diverse perspectives—painting, sculpture, architecture, contemporary art, and other related disciplines—with an accessible, interdisciplinary approach that avoids the technical jargon that often alienates the general public from this subject matter.

In this first session, we will be reading Always Red: Essays on Looking by John Berger.

In the month of August, we invite you to join the following visits: Take a breather... in full color. On Thursdays from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. and from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., we will offer a guided tour of the temporary exhibition.

Color is articulated through two fundamental mixing systems: subtractive and additive. Although both are based on the combination of primary colors, their logics are opposite.The subtractive system – typical of pigments and material surfaces – absorbs light until it approaches black; The additive—based on light projection—adds light to produce white. Chromatic threshold proposes a didactic journey between both systems through two connected installations that turn the perception of colour into a direct, physical and participatory experience.

The first installation explores the subtractive system using an interactive light table. On it, visitors can superimpose translucent circles of different diameters and observe how the accumulation of colour progressively alters the light, creating increasingly dense and dark mixtures. The piece transforms an optical principle into an intuitive, hands-on experience.

The second installation explores the additive system through a projection comprising three primary-coloured light sources. As the visitor’s body passes through the light, their shadow is fragmented into distinct chromatic layers, revealing how each light source contributes to the construction of the image. The installation transforms the space into a field of experimentation where light, colour and movement interact in real time.

ACTION/FICTION is an annual performing arts initiative aimed at young people between 15 and 30 years old. This initiative seeks to continue the success of "No more Boring Artists: Campus Escénico", an intensive summer program that has captured the attention of numerous young people, extending its creative spirit throughout the year.

The laboratory will offer a unique space for creation and experimentation, where participants will work on three quarterly performing arts creation projects. Each project will be inspired by the three wounds of Miguel Hernández and by the works of outstanding artists from the MACA collections and will culminate in a public presentation at the end of each quarter, allowing young people to share their creations in a professional and enriching environment.

The "No more Boring Artists: Scenic Laboratory" is an annual performing arts initiative aimed at young people between 15 and 25 years old. This initiative seeks to continue the success of the "No more Boring Artists: Scenic Campus", an intensive summer program that has captured the attention of numerous young people, extending its creative spirit throughout the year.

The laboratory will offer a unique space for creation and experimentation, where participants will work on three quarterly scenic creation projects. Each project will be inspired by the works of outstanding artists from the MACA collections and will culminate in a public exhibition at the end of each quarter, allowing young people to share their creations in a professional and enriching environment.

Objectives

Convert MACA into a reference space among the youth population.

Bring young people closer to contemporary art so that they not only understand it, but also become creative agents.

Foster interest in artistic production and creation through the performing arts.

Promote social awareness and critical consciousness through the practice of different artistic disciplines.

Offer cultural leisure alternatives that can be consolidated beyond the project's scheduling through the creation of permanent artistic collectives.

Establish bridges of intergenerational dialogue through the use of new technologies and communication networks

MACA proposes a series of activities designed to end the week in a creative way and explore MACA's collections. A way to discover other possible visits and take ownership of the museum space.

All activities are designed to deepen basic knowledge of contemporary art and its manifestations in a dynamic and fun way.

Based on a selection of works and artists, we aim to generate critical and creative thinking in participants, teach them to think the way artists do, and provide them with tools that allow them to express ideas and feelings through various artistic languages.

Macaextraescolar is a monthly activity that will take place on Fridays from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM. It is aimed at children between 6 and 12 years old in small groups who will attend without adult supervision.

The illustrated poetry collection You and I. Modernity and Memory. Memory and Modernity is one of the projects that emerged within the 3 x 3(1) Visits/Collections/Workshops program at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Alicante, although it soon gained its own dimension. In this case, five young people with Down syndrome from ANDA actively participated. Association of Children and Young People with Disabilities in Alicante. A poetic-artistic journey through five works belonging to the Fundación Caja Mediterráneo Collection, transforming poetry into art and art into poetry through emotion and creativity, with the aim of allowing participants to experience the process of creating a work of art inside and outside the Museum. To achieve this, we had the active collaboration of Pedro Rodríguez, illustrator P. Strange and Javier Calabria, poet and DJ to generate a dialogue in front of the works through creative processes, with the activity directed by Ester G. Guixot, museum educator at MACA and Cristina Barrachina, Social-Labor Integrator at ANDA to exchange knowledge and experiences.

Project Objective. To achieve the participation of young people with functional diversity in the Museum, in order to work, through dialogue in front of artworks, creative processes as a vehicle to enhance their social, emotional and creative abilities.

Materials and Methodology Applied. This project was structured around five works from the Fundación Caja Mediterráneo Collection that allowed for discovering the relationships between poetry and art in an exemplary way.

The practical implementation of the project took place during the months of April and May 2016, in two sessions: Memory and Modernity at ANDA facilities and Modernity and Memory at MACA, both lasting one and a half hours.

In the first session, Memory and Modernity, poetry and art were used with two very specific purposes: on one hand, having participants express through images and words what they felt with a poem by Javier Calabria, linked to each of the selected works, and on the other, using art and poetry as an inclusive dissemination channel. In the second session, Modernity and Memory at the Museum, it was discovered which work the illustrated poetry belonged to and the poetry collection was completed with new creative processes developed by the young people, thus completing the Visual Poetry Collection.

Selected Works:

Miquel Barceló, Il pittore a Bologna, 1983. Mixed media on paper glued to canvas and collage.

Jaume Plensa, The Porter, 2000. Tempered transparent glass, stainless steel and light.

Curro González, The Melancholic One, 2002. Mixed media on canvas

Carmen Calvo, Self-Portrait, 1994. Mixed media/collage of objects on satin mattress.

Juan Muñoz, Staring at the sea III, 1997. Polyester resin, mirror and cardboard.

Results and Conclusions. The illustrated poetry collection You and I. Modernity and Memory. Memory and Modernity has been created based on experiences in which artistic expression has been used as a means to facilitate communication and integration of young people with functional diversity in the Museum. And the result is beautiful. Our intention has been to create an "artist's book" that illustrates poems, a work of art where the most important thing has been the people and their process. This poetry collection addresses both literary and visual writing and has made it possible to raise awareness and create consciousness about the need to give continuity to this artistic project with other groups. It promotes the cultivation of a sensitivity that allows one to grasp the Museum, communicate and express oneself through creative processes. The sharing of the reading of the poems in front of the works was so moving that it ended up giving meaning to the much-mentioned social function of museums.

The experience was part of the festival Poetry is News in Alicante in April 2016.

Art education project that arises from the need to bring art and the museum to schools in a way adapted to the specific needs of the participants.

The main objective of this project is to bring the human face in art closer to students through activities that contribute to the general cognitive development of students, focusing especially on the sensory aspect so that students can develop personal balance in relation to feelings and emotions. Furthermore, it seeks to teach them that the world is full of different people, each with a unique face, which makes each person special.

In [R] PORTRAIT], we will explore the history of portraits in art from its beginnings to the present day, through the observation and exploration of different works from the MACA's permanent collections.

This second edition of [R] PORTRAIT» is being developed in the Hospital Pedagogy Unit of the Hospital classroom at the General Hospital of Alicante. During 7 sessions we will carry out different activities based on 20th and 21st century art, specifically in the portrait genre, since the MACA's works will allow us to promote the development of students' creative thinking through very simple, fun and enriching activities.

Collaborates: Provincial Council of Alicante

Art education project that arises from the need to bring art and the museum closer to schools in a way adapted to the specific needs of the participants.

The main objective of this project is to bring the human face in art closer through activities that contribute to the general cognitive development of students, focusing especially on the sensory aspect so that students can develop personal balance in relation to feelings and emotions. Furthermore, it seeks to teach them that the world is full of different people, each with a unique face, which makes each person special.

In [R] PORTRAIT], we will explore the history of portraits in art from its beginnings to the present day, through the observation and exploration of different works from the MACA's permanent collections.

The first edition of "(R) PORTRAIT" was developed in the Special Education Units of CEIP Azorín and IES Gaia in San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante). During 9 sessions, various activities were carried out that addressed different aspects of art, such as approaching the works, researching portraits and the characters that star in them, and the artistic expression of the students.

And as a final touch, we say goodbye in the best way we understand to disseminate and make visible: an exhibition!.

An art education project that arises from the need to promote effective integration and real accessibility of all to art and culture. It is about taking the Museum outside the museum and through the genre of artistic portraiture and through the application of a multisensory methodology to stimulate students through art. Based on a selection of portraits, we will work on visual, auditory, haptic, olfactory and gustatory stimulation, giving students the freedom to explore, discover, create and enjoy art.

The main objective of this project is to bring the human face in art closer to students through activities that contribute to the general cognitive development of students, focusing especially on the sensory aspect so that students can develop personal balance in relation to feelings and emotions. Furthermore, it seeks to teach them that the world is full of different people, each with a unique face, which makes each person special.

In [R] PORTRAIT], we will trace the history of portraits in art from its beginnings to the present day, through the observation and exploration of different works from the permanent collections of MACA.

In summary, this project is based on art history, specifically on the genre of portraiture, using works of art as tools to foster creative thinking in students through simple, fun and enriching activities. Furthermore, contact with artistic images will provide them with an approach to artistic and visual language, a linguistic perspective that will accompany them throughout their lives.