Entrepreneurs from Mexico, Colombia and Peru, along with other Spaniards, attend the IV Ibero-American Patronage Awards, which take place this Monday in Madrid, and which fulfill the objective of “promoting patronage in art and inspiring through of the example “.
The initiative rewards the social commitment to art and is, in addition, “an incubator for future patrons”, assured Efe its promoter, the president of the Callia Foundation, Carmen Reviriego, who points out that the importance of the awards lies in the relevance of the winners, the “outstanding” jury and “the people who gather”.
Reviriego is part of the jury along with the director of the Museo del Prado, Miguel Falomir, the president of the Royal Academy of History of Spain, Carmen Iglesias, or the director of the Thyssen Museum, Guillermo Solana, who recognize the work of a Spanish patron and another Latin American, with a work by an emerging artist.
“Who is invited to the awards is not collectors or patrons, but great businessmen who have the ability to make a difference,” says the promoter, who explains that this year will be attended by one hundred large Ibero-American entrepreneurs.
In the previous edition of the awards, the Spaniard Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, currently Duque de Alba, was awarded, who according to Riviriego represents the “greatest historical-artistic heritage” and the Venezuelan art collector Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, “one of the great patrons of art in Ibero-America “.
Reviriego explained that the announcement of the awards also serves to establish ties of union between Spain and Ibero-America and bring together entrepreneurs from different fields and “introduce them to the social commitment to art,” conveying that they can “transcend” and “leave a better world ”
“A concept of art that does not reach people has been transmitted, a very metaphysical definition” says Reviviego, which defines art as “a sense of fulfillment” or an “inner journey”, which we experience before any work.
Regrets that in Spain, an entrepreneur “who has made himself” and who is also socially committed is “suspicious”: “I wanted to change that culture and the way to change that culture was to inspire Ibero-Americans through example”, He says.
In his opinion, the financing of museums must start from a private initiative. “We must ensure that museums, the new temples of God, are self-sustaining” and that “pilgrims” reach them in order to be moved and “feel alive” through art. efe
