Grateful to have received the second prize at the 18th La Rural Visual Arts Competition. It was a true pleasure to share last Saturday’s meetings and awards ceremony with such incredible artists.

The 18th La Rural Visual Arts Prize, organized by the Fundación Caja Rural de Jaén, awarded the first prize to Alegría y Piñero. The second prize went to Reinventar el espectáculo by Santiago Talavera. These two awards were selected from among fifteen finalist pieces, which had previously been chosen by the jury from a total of 531 submissions. A special mention from the jury was awarded to María García Ibañez for Quien se aleja de su casa ya ha vuelto, a work made of high-temperature ceramic with slip, glaze, and metal.

The roundtable discussion, held at the Centro Cultural Baños Árabes de Jaén, brought together the jury—Óscar Alonso, Susana Blas, Fernando Carnicero, Mar Mendoza, and Javier Díaz Guardiola—with the 15 selected artists for a conversation on contemporary art, moderated by Pilar Rodrigo, head of the Cultural Area of the Fundación Caja Rural de Jaén.