There is a new group exhibition at Real Academia de España en Roma: Muchos caminos. Imágenes contemporáneas del Camino de Santiago curated by Manuel Olveira (director of Museo Contemporáneo de Castilla y León – MUSAC). The show was the starting point of “Remover Roma con Santiago” Festival created by the Spanish Embassy in Italy.
“Muchos caminos. Imágenes contemporáneas del Camino de Santiago” (Many paths. Contemporary images from the Way of Santiago) is inspired by the landscape and the anthropological, cultural, historical, spiritual and / or religious realities by the Way of Santiago and the pilgrimage that motivates it, but above all by the reality of the experience that comes from everything linked directly to the pilgrimage and the path. When we talk about “pilgrimage” we always think about religion. For example the Holy Land acts as a focal point for the pilgrimages of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. “Samsara” that in Sanskrit is used with reference to the circle death/rebirth means pilgrimage in the eastern philosophies. However we have to re-think this theme in its universal meaning: a journey in search of significances (a journey to holy places or to seek fortune or to look for something hidden in ourselves). It is a journey that connects us to the holy whatever it means. Every real or metaphorical journey related to memories or spiritual search is a pilgrimage.
This is one of the keywords of the exhibition that includes 31 artists related to four thematic blocks:
the meaning and the destination of the pilgrimage (Roland Fischer, Humberto Rivas, Peter Wüthrich, Xurxo Lobato, Roman Signer, Andrés Pinal, Vik Muniz e Mariona Moncunill), the experience of walking to go ahead (José Val del Omar, Esther Ferrer, Rubén Grilo, Francisco Felipe, Pedro Garhel, Gabriel Díaz, Zoulikha Bouabdellah e Javier Codesal), the dialogue between me and the world (Enrique Carbó, Peyrotau & Sediles, Nina Rhode, Natividad Bermejo, Eugenio Ampudia e Mapi Rivera), events that made history (Gerardo Custance, Bleda y Rosa, Javier Ayarza, Jorge Barbi, José Luis Viñas e Rosendo Cid).