Culture and Historical heritage

Formentera celebrates World Children's Day with cultural, fitness and educational activities through November

Friday, 05 November 2021 09:59

cartell 2021 infancia

Today the Formentera Office of Youth (Conselleria de Juventut) unveiled its programme of activities to celebrate World Children's Day on 20 November. All month long special activities will help children and young people to celebrate their day, a commemoration of adoption of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).

Councillor of Youth Affairs Vanessa Parellada described the programme as "extremely varied" and insisted, "We want all kids and teens on the island to celebrate their day in one way or another, but we want all islanders, no matter their age, to participate was well". "Protecting children and young people and defending their rights are cross-cutting issues, and diverse activities bills such as the one we are presenting today are a testament to that".

Skate park activities

For the first time ever, the Casal de Joves has put together a day of activities at the Sant Francesc skate park. The event will take place Saturday 6 November between 5.00pm and 8.30pm. Experienced skaters will face off in a tricks contest with a prize for the two finalists. There will also be an exhibition by ten-year-old Leonardo Vinicius Cuervo and Naia Laso, Spain's 12-year-old champion of park skateboarding.

Monday 10 November at 3.00pm Xènia Fuertes will post a storytelling session to the Facebook page of the Marià Villangómez Library. Friday 26 November will be a day for the environment. From 3.00pm islanders can connect to Marià Villangómez Library's Facebook page again to see Maristela Bell host an activity on recycling.

Talks

On Tuesday 11 November, as part of the Formentera Office of Social Welfare's lecture series for parents and teachers, islanders are invited to attend Lydia Micó's “Intentional Eating: The art of being present while at the table". The talk starts at 5.00pm in the Sala de Plens (next to the Formentera Day Centre). Thursday 25 November, Cristina Costa will give a presentation called "With positive education, everyone's a winner!", also in the Sala de Plens from 5.00pm. Interested parties must reserve space in advance by calling 971 321 271 or emailing educaciosocial@conselldeformentera.cat.

Friday 12 November at 6.00pm, the Casal de Joves invites youth to an evening of star gazing where activity leaders will lead participants on a walk to the Molí d'en Mateu windmill to observe stars and constellations.

Fitness day

On Saturday 13 November, the Formentera Office of Sport has put together a day of fitness at the Antoni Blanc sports centre. From 9.00am to 2.00pm there will be kids' circuits, guided classes, a demonstration of flow dance and demonstrations by local sport clubs.

Clown show

The cultural part of the programme kicks off Saturday 13 November with clown extraordinaire Marcel Gros's production “Contes Amagats”. The show is organised by the Formentera Office of Culture and will start at 6.00pm in the Sala de Cultura (Cinema). Tickets cost €4 and can be purchased at www.entradesformentera.cat .

World Alcohol-Free Day on Monday 15 November will come with games and dynamic activities hosted by Formentera Marxa. The event will take place from 5.00pm in the courtyard of Sant Ferran's new Espai Cultural (formerly the Sant Ferran school).

Children's Parliament

Friday 19 November will be the occasion for the tenth Balearic Children's Parliament. Representatives from Children's and Youth Councils across the archipelago will appear before the Balearic Parliament to present a manifesto regarding their efforts around Sustainable Development Goal number 11 of the UN's 2030 Agenda: "Sustainable Cities and Communities: Is our municipality sustainable?". The presentation happens with support from the regional chapter of UNICEF and the Balearic Office of Children and Adolescents (Oficina Balear de la Infància i l'Adolescència/OBIA). All Formentera schools will participate in the event.

On the morning of Friday 19 November, the Sala de Cultura (Cinema) will play host to Vívete. It will be the first time the conference is held in an in-person format on Formentera. Geared toward young people in general and students of Marc Ferrer High School in particular, the idea behind Vívete is to reflect on attitudes, values and emotions with speakers who share their own personal experience. Vívete seeks to promote human values and tools for sound, conscious personal development.

World Children's Day

For young people Saturday 20 November will be a day of reflection. From 5.00pm, under the banner "Universal Children's Day: Know your rights!", the Casal de Joves team will discuss the rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The convention establishes the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children and was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989.

Also on Friday 26 November, from 5.00pm, Formentera Marxa will present a workshop on alcohol-free cocktails at the Sant Francesc skate park. And lastly, Tuesday 30 November from 10.00am, the Formentera Children's and Youth Participatory Council will meet for the group's full-house virtual assembly.

Full public health protocol will be enforced at all activities per current regulations.

5 November 2021
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Formentera hails return of clown extraordinaire Marcel Gros

Thursday, 04 November 2021 09:58

foto 2021 marcel grosB

The Formentera Office of Culture is pleased to report that next Saturday 13 November Marcel Gros will perform “Contes Amagats”. Humour and imagination go hand in hand as the storyteller-cum-clown takes audiences on a journey down imaginary pathways teeming with shapes, papers, sounds and colours…in search of the stories not yet in books. Gros will go wherever it takes to find these "hidden tales", and he realises that stories are everywhere; the trick is catching them. Though sometimes, if we stand still, the stories catch us.

"Contes Amagats" and other quality productions come to Formentera as part of the PLATEA programme of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport's National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM). It is also part of programming for L'Illa a Escena.

Back story

Marcel Gros made his street theatre debut four decades ago and was a founding member of the troupe Teatre Mòbil. In 1991, after training in circus and clown techniques with masters such as Willi Colombaioni, Pierre Byland and Philippe Gaullier, Gros, keen to grow his solo career, embarked on a career of self-made productions that has earned him numerous honours. Among them was the 2019 Fetén Prize, for "Contes Amagats".

Islanders can catch "Contes Amagats" Saturday 13 November at 6.00pm in the Sala de Cultura (Cinema). The show is recommended for viewers three and up. Tickets are €4 and are available from tomorrow Friday 5 November at www.entradesformentera.cat or thirty minutes before the function at the box office.

4 November 2021
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Presenting 'Els gèneres cantats a Eivissa i Formentera'

Thursday, 21 October 2021 11:36

foto 2021 generes cantats The Formentera Office of Heritage, in partnership with the Consell d'Eivissa, presents the publication from the 2004-05 winners of the Consell de Formentera research grant. "Els gèneres cantats a Eivissa i Formentera" ('Genres of song on Eivissa and Formentera') was a research investigation led by Cati Marí Serra and Jaume Escandell Guasch. The presentation will take place at 7.00pm on Saturday 23 October in the Consell de Formentera Sala d'Actes.

Marí and Escandell's grant was awarded by what was, at the time, the Consell d'Eivissa i Formentera. A presentation will also be staged this Friday at Sa Nostra Sala of Eivissa.

21 October 2021
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Stella Rahola Matutes's 'Fig Juice' at 'Far de la Mola' from 27 October

Friday, 22 October 2021 13:55

cartell 2021 expo fig juice The Formentera Office of Culture is pleased to report that next Wednesday 27 October, "Far de la Mola" Cultural and Educational Space will open its doors to "Fig Juice", a new installation from architect and sculptor Stella Rahola Matutes.

Rahola says the exhibition considers three types of material bodies: "a fruit made of glass and gold, a rusty iron chain that forms seeds in its links, and cast-off hair that is either sustaining or being sustained". The trilogy allows us to bypass pairs, the artist asserts, by establishing between them a relationship of organic, collaborative, non-hierarchical plurality. "The three bodies could be understood as inanimate matter according to classical taxonomy, but they all demonstrate a latent and living materiality in transformation", says Rahola.

In the installation, the three material bodies establish structures that are free to intertwine extemporaneously, without repetition, establishing tensions at different, decentralised points and occasionally breaking with the concept of humans as observers.

The title "Fig Juice" alludes to the unstable liquid state which nearly makes it possible for us to be ingested and embodied by ourselves.

The show will be on view at the Far de la Mola exhibition space Tuesday to Saturday, 10.00am to 2.00pm. At 7.00pm on Friday 12 November, the Casa del Poble will host a talk with the artist and invite her to speak about her work.

Biography
Stella Rahola Matutes graduated from Barcelona's Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura and Goldsmiths, University of London, and holds a degree in sculpture from the Escola Massana. Her solo exhibitions include "Fig Juice" (Espai Micus, Eivissa, 2020 to 2021), "Babelia & Other Stories" (Museu Can Mario, Palafrugell, 2019) and "El otro paisaje" (Carles Taché Gallery, Barcelona, 2014). She has participated in several collective exhibitions, such as "Politics of Translation", "The Stone Space" (London, 2019) and "Syntonic State" (TULCA Festival of Visual Arts; Galway, 2018).

The artist was recently awarded the Vila Casas Foundation's Sculpture Prize.

25 October 2021
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Opening Monday at Ajuntament Vell, Ana Celada's 'Identity' ruminates on creation and the importance of identity

Thursday, 21 October 2021 10:10

cartell 2021 identitat At 7.00pm on Monday 25 October, after an open-air poetry reading in support of the main function, visitors to the Ajuntament Vell will see the curtain pulled back on Ana Celada's third show at the municipal gallery, "Identitat" – the artist's statement of reflection on creation and the importance of identity.

In Celada's words, "in the era of the global village and with Earth's population in constant growth, it seems imperative to reflect on who we are, how important we are and how our actions influence others". Celada affirms that her identity is as mutable as her thinking or experience, and confides furthermore, "I am not sure that my identity is unique". In that regard, she feels fluid identities and non-radicalised personal ideologies are conducive to human values: "We can identify with others based on the mere fact we belong to the same species and are part of the same living natural world.

The show features three different works by the artist. On the one hand, there are the graphics of Celada's own fingerprint, which rely on a pictorial technique rooted in writing and, by extension, the word, thought, the verse. And, Celada says, "in the same way that fingerprints are part of the body, other featured pieces start from the shape of a heart – these hearts are free to burst or contract; some beat concisely and some seem to rebel and lose their purpose. Breaking with these two visions of the body and one's own physicality, breaking with that inner vision, a great triptych is proposed, and it is an outer vision, a look towards nature. It is about taking a breath and knowing, without drama, that everything we see depends on our gaze, and that the inner and outer worlds are of the same nature."

"Identitat" will be on view 26 October to 6 November. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday, 11.00am to 2.00pm and 6.00pm to 8.00pm, and closed Sundays and Monday mornings.