The Andorra Land Art international Biennial is an exhibition to enhance the value of the vast natural and cultural heritage of Andorra. During the event you can see artistic works within the wide concept of Land Art, created in the open air, both in the urban centers and in the Andorran countryside.
Andorra is a tiny, independent principality situated between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains.
It’s known for its ski resorts and a tax-haven status that encourages duty-free shopping.
The country is also known from Max Frisch’s famous play Andorra. Swiss dramatist Max Frisch wrote the play in 1961. The original text came from a prose sketch Frisch had written in his diary titled Der andorranische Jude.
It is a play that is hard to digest. But in German schools, for example, it is often used as mandatory reading because the play teaches us a lot about prejudice and persecution.
However, the Andorra in Frisch’s play is fictional and not intended to be a representation of the real Andorra which is waiting for your visit high up in the beautiful Pyrenees.
According to Wikipedia, the real Andorra is the sixth-smallest state in Europe, with an area of 468 square kilometres (181 sq mi) and a population of approximately 77,006.
The Andorran people are a Romance ethnic group of originally Catalan descent.
And, to further throw some interesting statistics at you: Andorra is the world’s 16th-smallest country by land, and the 11th-smallest country by population.
Nevertheless, Andorra has a lot to offer. From mountain sports to famous museums, to fancy restaurants, to art projects like Andorra Land Art.
As the Biennial Foundation states:
“The primary mission of Andorra Land Art (ALA) is to enhance the value of the vast natural and cultural heritage of Andorra, based on the principle of building a contemporary landscape, a different way to interpret a place, a region, a country…”
The organizers further explain, “In much the same way that a tattoo or makeup aims to embellish the human body, the art piece is inserted into the landscape with a set of aesthetic codes.”
“And, at the same time, beyond the onsite installations, we are open to other forms of art that take their references from nature or the landscape, whether paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos or other types of offsite installations.”
Land Art is a movement which first began in New York in the 1960s. This movement rejected the conservative act of only locating art in the traditional habitat of a gallery or a museum.
A bit more than half a century later, a new generation of Land Artists has been inspired by the impact of climate change.
And the Principality of Andorra, thanks to their biennial art festival, has become a site of pilgrimage for the movement.
The first Andorra Land Art international Biennial took place in 2015. Since then, it has been running every two years. Next year, it’ll be that time again…
Usually, the festival will give visitors a chance to observe the symbiosis between works of over 70 artists from twelve different nations and the natural backdrop of the Pyrenees mountains.
Entry to the festival is free.
A glimpse into the first ALA festival in 2015:
Links
Wikipedia about Andorra
Official Website Biennial Foundation
Official Website Andorra Land Art
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