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Event 46
Princess Alia Al-Senussi and Catalina Tejero
Women Shaping the Arts: Collecting, Patronage, and Cultural Legacy
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IE University. Sala Capitular
This conversation brings together influential women collectors and arts supporters whose engagement spans local and international cultural landscapes. From building significant collections to championing emerging artists and institutions, these women play a vital role in shaping the future of the arts. Through personal stories and shared insights, we will explore what drives their commitment, how their practices reflect identity, values, and community, and the impact of their patronage in times of change.
Princess Alia Al-Senussi, PhD, is a globally renowned member of the contemporary art world with a focus on cultural strategy and patronage systems. She is an active cultural strategist, writer, patron, public speaker and academic recognized for her deep knowledge of the global art world and its systems and members.
She has served as Art Basel's UK and MENA Representative for over a decade, and is also currently Senior Advisor, International Outreach for Art Basel. In 2019 she was appointed Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Culture, Saudi Arabia, where she focuses on developing international partnerships whilst working on a variety of projects in Saudi Arabia, for Misk Arts Institute, the Ministry of Culture and the Diriyah Biennale Foundation..
Dr Al-Senussi is currently the founding Chairperson of the K11 International Council, a member of the Tate Modern Advisory Council (London), the Board of Trustees of the ICA London, the Strategic Advisory Panel of the Delfina Foundation (London), the Board of Trustees of The Showroom (London), the Board of Trustees of FUNTASIA/Elisa Sednaoui Foundation (UK / Egypt / Italy) among others.
She will talk to Catalina Tejero, the conversation will illuminate the intersection of gender, power, and cultural influence, offering a compelling look at how women are redefining what it means to support and steward the arts today.
Catalina Tejero serves as the Dean of the IE School of Humanities at IE University, where she is also an adjunct faculty member. Her research explores the intersection of family firms and arts philanthropy. She serves on the jury for the Princess of Girona Foundation Arts Award and the IE Foundation Humanities Prizes. She is also an Honorary Member of the Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado in Madrid and a member of the Association of Women in the Arts (AWITA).
Event in English with simultaneous translation into Spanish
Juan Gabriel Vásquez in conversation with Helena de Bertodano
Living Through Others
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Biblioteca Municipal Casa de la Lectura
For Juan Gabriel Vásquez, literature is a way of reinterpreting the past, giving meaning to events and the decisions of those who lived them. Deeply influenced by authors such as Joseph Conrad, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf, he is drawn to the idea of becoming someone else through fiction —and through that transformation, pushing society forward. A prolific author, acclaimed by both the public and critics, presents his latest work: The Names of Feliza, inspired by the life of the colombian sculptor Feliza Bursztyn.
He will discuss his work and literary influences with Helena de Bertodano, a journalist specializing in interviews with key figures of contemporary literature, such as Umberto Eco, Isabel Allende, Kurt Vonnegut, and Mario Vargas Llosa.
At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of his books
Event in Spanish
This event has taken place
Co-organised with Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial and AECID (Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation)
The answers to many of our personal problems are not to be found in the future, but in history. Faced with the pressing and ever-shifting issues of modern times, the classics provide timeless concepts that have stood, sound and infallible, through the tests of time. In classical culture, myths also serve to explain our Western culture and its codes of behaviour: heroism, generosity, selfishness, courage, envy, and so on. The gods of Olympus and the heroes of classical antiquity are leading characters in a fascinating series of tales that never cease to amaze us. Emilio del Río reflects on modernity, myths and the relevance of the classics in our lives, in conversation with writer and journalist Carlos Aganzo.
At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of his books
Event in Spanish
This event has taken place
In collaboration with the newspaper El Norte de Castilla and organised together with Diputación de Segovia and Teatro Juan Bravo
Absence as Stimulus is a new creation by National Photography Prize winner Alberto García-Alix.Conceived as a visual lecture, the author reflects on how absence —its presence and its vital force— shapes and permeates his work, acting as both guiding thread and catalyst in his photographs. Accompanying his spoken reflections, García-Alix presents 68 images, most of them unpublished and taken over the last 15 years. He explores how absence is embedded in everything around us: in nature, architecture, objects, and even in portraiture, "because something always escapes us from the subject." In his own words: "absence is a stimulus."
The event will be introduced by Sema D’Acosta, an independent curator, art critic, educator, and researcher, considered one of Spain’s leading visual arts specialists.
Event in Spanish
This event has taken place
In collaboration with Acción Cultural Española, AC/E
