Exhibition in Valencia: ‘Masterpieces of Spanish Pottery in the Francisco Godia Foundation’

González Martí National Pottery Museum, May 10th – July 22nd 2007

The fundación abertis and the Fundación Francisco Godia, with the support of aumar, presented the exhibition “Masterpieces of Spanish Pottery in the Francisco Godia Foundation” at the González Martí National Pottery and Sumptuary Arts Museum in Valencia. The show brings together seventy-four pieces.

The selection of works offers a trip through Spanish pottery over a period that goes from the 14th century to the 19th century. The exhibition has pieces from different pottery production centres: Talavera de la Reina (Toledo), Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and Alcora (Castellón). To this diversity of geographical origins, we should add an old pottery apothecary jar of Syrian origin, from the end of the 14th century or beginning of the 15th century, decorated with Kufic inscriptions.

Portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter (Mujer con gorro y cuello de piel), a painting by Pablo Picasso

In 2007, abertis acquired Pablo Picasso’s painting Mujer con gorro y cuello de piel (1937) which it then donated to the State through a dation (payment of taxes). The Ministry of Culture has ceded the work to the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC).

The work is an oil on canvas, measuring 61 x 51 centimetres, showing Marie-Thérèse Walter, the Malaga painter’s sentimental companion between approximately 1927 and 1935. In the portrait, Picasso carried out an exhaustive analytical exercise and subjected Marie-Thérèse’s youth and personality to a thousand metamorphic transformations. The artist converted the model into an icon of sensuality through a rich pictorial language in which the distortion of shapes meant the consolidation of the so-called Picasso style which marked the keys of the artistic language of the 20th century.

The acquisition of this work of art to be later handed over to the State so that it can be visited at the MNAC is part of abertis’ actions to inform about our artistic legacy and to support the country’s main cultural institutions.

Forum de las Culturas Barcelona 2004

As a corporation committed to society and with the mission of establishing a close dialogue with all its stakeholders, abertis decided to sponsor the Forum of the Cultures with the aim of contributing to an initiative that, in tune with its own corporate values, promoted social responsibility, sustainable development and culture as factors in the progress of society as a whole.

The activities carried on by the entire group of companies, the strengthening relationship between different cultures due to the presence of businesses in different countries and the wide range of actions promoted in collaboration with the country’s social fabric have allowed abertis to place at the Forum’s disposal the technical means and the intellectual capital accumulated by its people and its areas of activity in the aim of contributing to making possible a project which wished to mobilise people and ideas towards new states of interaction, knowledge and progress.

With mobility of and communication between people as its key priority, abertis contributed 60 wheelchairs to the Forum, to help those with reduced mobility get about. The wheelchairs were produced in collaboration with the Catalan Technology Institute and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Its design incorporates a mechanical gearbox which improves manoeuvrability over uneven ground and steep slopes. After the event closed, the wheelchairs were distributed amongst different care organisations to meet the their service needs or improve the mobility of their members.

Another important project, commenced within the framework of the Forum, was its participation in an initiative of an informational and explanatory nature on planning, mobility and urban development issues. The creation of a huge model of the city of Barcelona, covering 190 m2 at 1:1000 scale, presented as part of the exhibition “Barcelona in Progress”, was used as a training and educational tool to explain to visitors the concepts and parameters of the city’s urban development. More than a million people visited the model during the 128 days it was open to the public.

Within the series of “Dialogues” proposed by the Forum on “The role of corporations sin the 21st century”, abertis MD Salvador Alemany participated in the session “Partnership. Why and how to establish alliances with other social agents”, contributing the corporation’s experience of the initiatives launched via its different business activities and highlighting the need for “managing complexity” in the current socio-economic context through dialogue and alliances with interested parties, with this being one of the best ways of improving and contributing solutions in a complex environment. In accordance with this vision, which provides a boost for the development of Corporate Social Responsibility policies in business organisations, their leaders must provide “proactive, credible and ethical leadership”, and also provide support for regulatory mechanisms to ensure progress and build the corporate reputation of organisations.

The Good Business Practices Workshop, designed by the Forum to show to the public the good practices developed by companies in their different areas of activity, allowed abertis to show to the event’s visitors its priority action areas: The mobility of and communication between people, particularly those with impaired mobility, improvements to road safety and journeys made; the environment, minimising the environmental impact of its activities and managing the biodiversity and bushes of its motorways; and culture, maintaining cultural, historical and artistic heritage via the abertis foundation.

Exhibition in Alicante: “The Splendour of Spanish Pottery”

Alicante Municipal Arts Centre, 26th October - 27th November 2006

The Alicante municipal arts centre hosted the exhibition on The splendour of Spanish pottery: the Francisco Godia collection from 26th October to 27th November 2004. This informative event publicised the abertis foundation's activities in the Valencia region and strengthened our links with the regional and local authorities.

The exhibition covered different periods from the 13th century to the 19th, to become a living testimony to the history of Spain's towns and villages and the people who lived in them. All the centres of production on the Iberian peninsula were represented: Muel, Teruel and Villafeliche, Puente del Arzobispo, Talavera de la Reina and Toledo, Barcelona, Alcora, Manises, Paterna and Valencia.

Spanish pottery shows the country's cultural diversity and gives an idea of the different influences involved. Thus, plant, heraldic, animal, figure, portrait and landscape motifs appear in an exhibition which ranges from Muslim influences – later reinterpreted by the Moriscos in Paterna and Manises during the period of the Reconquest – to the mastery of the Flemish, Italian and French artists or the products of 18th century factories. All these motifs are brought together in the catalogue published by the foundation, which also includes explanations by the exhibition commissioner, Maria Antonia Casanovas, and other experts.

Outstanding among the pieces displayed in the exhibition are a bust of the tenth count of Aranda, a minister under Carlos III and founder of the Alcora factory, and a series of lusterware plates which have been highly prized by collectors since the 15th century.

Exhibition in Zaragoza: “The Roots of Contemporary Art at the Francisco Godia Foundation”

Pablo Gargallo Museum, 21st June – 10th September 2006

The abertis foundation, the Francisco Godia foundation and Zaragoza city council presented, in Zaragoza, the exhibition The Roots of Contemporary Art at the Francisco Godia Foundation. This event featured works by 23 artists from the collection built up by the art patron from Barcelona Francisco Godia Sales (1921-1990).

The exhibition featured works by pioneers of modernity such as Hermen Anglada-Camarasa, Francesc Gimeno, Joaquim Mir, Isidre Novell and Josep Maria de Sucre. It also included contemporary works of art from 1920 to 1950, such as those by José de Togores, Joaquín Torres García, Julio González, Pere Pruna, Óscar Domínguez, Antoni Clavé and Ismael de la Serna. Also present at the exhibition was the cream of the second avant-garde, with works by Juan Genovés, Josep Maria Subirachs and Jorge Castillo, and the modern day, with a selection of works by Miquel Barceló, Modest Cuixart, Hans Hartung, Josep Guinovart, Piero Manzoni, Joan Ponç, Josep Riera i Aragó and Josep Uclés.

The exhibition reconstructed the historical discourse concerning 20th century art from an innovative point of view which focuses on the artists rather than on schools and movements. Among the works on show in Zaragoza, a double oil – front and back – by Óscar Domínguez standed out, revealing very clearly the impact of the avant-garde movements on the artists of the post-war period. Another of the artists who personified the mutations and changes in the sensitivities of contemporary art was Joaquín Torres-García, by whom two works were on show: his “Female Figure” of 1928, which introduced ideographic representation, and “Constructive View of Colour and Graphics” from 1936. With regard to the work of artists currently active, outstanding pieces included “Rhinoceros” (1981) by Miquel Barceló, a Cuixart (“Painting”, from 1959), a Guinovart from 1959 and “Composition” by Hans Hartung (1958).

Archaeological Sites Around Catalan Motorways

abertis’ long history of commitment to culture has led us to give our support to a range of schemes to recover and safeguard our historic and artistic heritage. The motorway concessions’ “cultural 1%” has helped to recover sites around the road network. Other examples of this include investments in projects of our own, such as the restoration of the castle of Castellet or the Roman quarry of El Mèdol, as well as numerous research projects like the one financed by acesa into the ancient landscape of Ager Tarraconensis.

On the occasion of the celebration of International Monuments Day, organised by the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the abertis foundation presented a document on Visitable Archaeological Sites around Catalan Motorways at the one-day conference on managing archaeological tourism organised by the University of Barcelona and the Caixa de Catalunya foundation. Access to archaeological heritage was among the topics dealt with on the conference programme.

This presentation, in the form of easy-to-read factsheets, was commissioned to the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology. They include information on the 58 archaeological sites located around the following roads: the AP-7 (30 sites), the AP-2 (8), C-32 (19) and B-20 (1) and give the nearest motorway exit. It springs out of the abertis foundation’s interest in raising awareness of the region and helping to create prosperity, in this case on the basis of cultural tourism.

Consult the document

Other actions in support of culture

• 2008
  • Summer concert at Castellet. Music at the Castles series
  • Support for the Castell de Peralada Festival
  • Support for the Jardins de Cap Roig Festival
  • Castellet Mediaeval Market. Cooperation with the municipality of Castellet i la Gornal
  • Archaeological excavations at the castle of Castellet
  • Around the World in 80 Percussion Instruments show for employees of the abertis group at the Palau de la Música
  • Performance of a stage version of the Mercè Rodoreda novel La Plaça del Diamant by employees of the abertis group at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya
• 2007
  • Cooperation in the conference on intervention with architectural heritage organised by the official college of architects of Catalonia and the association of architects for the defence of and intervention with architectural heritage
  • 7th symposium on sustainable heritage management: Cultural Itineraries and the Formation of Europe
  • Archaeological excavations at the castle of Castellet
  • Sponsorship of the courses organised by the Friends of the Prado foundation and the Francisco Godia foundation
  • Exhibition “Masterpieces of Spanish pottery at the Francisco Godia foundation” in Valencia
  • Collaboration with the Fiesta Mayor of Castellet i la Gornal. Support for the Music in the castles series of concerts
  • Support for Peralada Castle Festival
  • Support for the Cap Roig Gardens Festival
  • Presentation of Oscar Wilde's play Lady Windermere's Fan for Corporation employees at the National Theatre of Catalonia (TNC)
  • Collaboration in the VII Mediaeval Market of Castellet i la Gornal
  • Publishing of the book Art on the Motorway
  • Presentation of the performance of Around the World with 80 Percussion Instruments for families of abertis Corporation employees in the Palau de la Música Catalana
  • Purchase of the painting Woman with a hat and fur collar, by Pablo Picasso, and donation of the work to the State by the mechanism of payment in kind (payment of taxes) for it to be exhibited in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC- National Art Museum of Catalonia)
  • Exclusive sponsorship of "The Colours of the Orchestra" on 2, 3 and 4 February at the Auditori. The sponsorship of these concerts is part of the 2006-2007 season sponsorship of the Barcelona Symphony and National Orchestra of Catalonia (OBC)
• 2006
  • Collaboration in the restoration of the basilica of Santa Maria de Montblanc (Tarragona)
  • Support for the Festival Mil·leni (Millennium Festival)
  • VI Sustainable Heritage Management Workshop: "Cultural Heritage and the construction of development indicators" (conclusions)
  • Sponsorship of the course The el Prado Museum and Contemporary Art
  • Support for the VII Summer Communication Encounter and Peralada Castle Festival
  • Support for the Cap Roig Gardens Festival
  • Collaboration with the VI Castellet i la Gornal Medieval Market
  • Publication of the book Castellet: "an 11th century feudal castle"
  • Collaboration with the VI Seminar on Civil Engineering in Roman Times. Visit to Roman quarry in el Mèdol
• 2005
  • Sponsorship of the course The el Prado Museum and Contemporary Art
  • Performance of the play ‘Les falses confidències’ by abertis Corporation employees at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC, the National Theatre of Catalonia)
  • Dr. Anna Cabré, trustee of the abertis foundation, awarded with a Creu de Sant Jordi from the Generalitat de Catalunya
  • Acquisition of the painting Materia y metal, by Antoni Tàpies, and lending to the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC, Catalonia’s National Art Museum)
  • Publication of the book Descubrir el Montseny (Discovering the Montseny). Book presentation in Breda (La Selva)
  • Support for 6th Castellet i la Gornal Mediaeval Market
  • Concert of the 16th “Music in the Castles” series during the Castellet i la Gornal Annual Festival
• 2004
  • Publication of the book Imágenes del Quijote (Images of Quijote)
  • La cerámica española (Spanish Pottery) exhibition by the Fundación Francisco Godia, in Alicante
  • Publication of the book El Médol
  • Support for 5th Castellet i la Gornal Mediaeval Market
  • Concert of the 15th “Music in the Castles” series during the Castellet i la Gornal Annual Festival

Organisations with which we collaborate on culture-related matters

• Music:
  • Fundació Gran Teatre del Liceu
  • Teatro Real de Madrid
  • Fundació Orfeó Català-Palau de la Música Catalana
  • L’Auditori de l’Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona
  • Festival de Música Castell de Peralada
  • Festival Jardins de Cap Roig
  • Fundació Castells Culturals de Catalunya (Music in the Castles Festival)
• The plastic arts:
  • Fundación Francisco Godia
  • Museo Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC, the National Art Museum of Catalonia)
  • Amics del MNAC
  • Fundación MACBA
  • Museo Esteban Vicente (Segovia)
  • Fundació Amics del Museo Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (Friends of the National Art Museum of Catalonia Foundation)
  • Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado (Friends of the Prado Museum Foundation)
  • Real Asociación Amigos del Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (The Royal Association of Friends of the National Queen Sofía Art Centre Museums)
  • Amics dels Museus Dalí (Friends of the Dalí Museum)
• The performing arts:
  • Teatre Nacional de Catalunya
  • Cinemanet
• Others:
  • Fundación Carolina
  • Fundación de Estudios de Economia Aplicada
  • Cercle d’Economia
  • Fundació Catalunya i Territori
  • Fundació Sardana
  • Capítol Espanyol del Club de Roma
  • Fundació Universitat Ramon Llull (“Ethos” project)
  • Generalitat Valenciana
  • Fundació Barcelona Cultura
  • Fundación de Estudios Financieros
  • Fundación ESADE
  • IESE
  • Fundación Òmnium
  • The parish of Santa Maria de Montblanc (restoration of the Gothic nave)
  • Associació Patronat del Santuari Ecològic del Castell de la Parroquia de Gallifa
  • Asociación Desarrollo del Mecenazgo Empresarial (AEDME)
  • Tarragona Municipal Council
  • Fundació Barcelona Digital (7th Global Congress)
  • Instituto de Auditores Internos de España (Spanish Institute of Internal Auditors, 1st Encounter of Internal Auditors, Barcelona)
  • Xarxa Televisions locals de Catalunya and Institut Municipal de Comunicació de Granollers (Catalan Local Televisions Network and Granollers Municipal Institute of Communication, MAC 2005)
  • Castellet i la Gornal Municipal Council (Mediaeval Market)
  • Asociación Española de Fundaciones (Spanish Foundations Associations)
  • Coordinadora Catalana de Fundaciones (Catalan Foundations Coordinator)
  • Institut d’Estudis Penedesencs
  • Associació d’Amics de la UPC
  • Spanish association of minority shareholders in stock exchange listed companies
  • Catalunya Oberta foundation