Centre d’Art i Natura – Farrera
El Centre d’Art i Natura (CAN) in Farrera is a work residence for artists and researchers from all over the world. The village of Farrera (pop. 25), situated in the heart of the Catalan Pyrenees (1,360 m)in Pallars Sobirà, benefits from exceptional and peaceful surroundings ideal for reflection, inspiration and creativity. The natural environment of the high mountain is rich and diverse and its cultural heritage is genuine and authentic, an excellent framework for field work, research and study. The Farrera CAN is a locally developed public initiative that has served creativity and research since 1996. Owned by the local council, the CAN is managed by the non-profit making Amics del Centre d’Art i Natura de Farrera.
In its quest to be a site for creation and cultural production, a space for research and exchange, a place for reflection and communication, a meeting point for art and science, the Centre de Arte i Natura has developed a wide-ranging cultural programme:
INTERNATIONAL GRANTS AND EXCHANGES: allowing artists and researchers to undertake work stays in other residence centres around the world (Finland, Ireland, Egypt) and in Farrera itself.
SEMINARS AND COURSES: related to art, science and contemporary thinking, given by teachers who are highly qualified in the fields of illustration, the study of forms, gastronomy, the evolution of landscape, historic memory, literature and the voice, art and ecology, among others.
EXHIBITION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE ART ARCHIVES: contemporary mountain art generated by means of voluntary donations from the residents, periodically exhibited in cultural centres in the country.
IN-HOUSE PUBLICATIONS: such as those published via the collection Farrera, denominació d’origen, based on original works created in the CAN that visualise our mountain setting, and those derived from the courses and seminars undertaken. PRESENTATIONS AND PERFORMANCES: created by resident artists, who have the opportunity to present their work at the end of their stay. Small-scale performances are also organised annually.
RESEARCH: research into our high-mountain setting, whether environmental (evolution of the landscape) or cultural (religious songs and male polyphonies).
On an international level, the CAN is a member of the residence networks Res Artis and Alliance of Artists Communities. On the Catalan front, it is a founding member of the Network of Spaces for the Production of Visual Arts of Catalunya <Xarxaprod>.
