>> More than 300 students showcase new perspectives in international art at Coll d’en Rabassa
>> ADEMA President Diego González: “We are very proud to be the organizers of a pioneering event that champions innovation, research, and internationalization in the Fine Arts, showcases the creative power of the next generation, and offers our students a real platform for professional development.”
>> The Government, Council, and City Council of Palma congratulated the ADEMA team on this initiative, highlighting its pioneering nature and its contribution to positioning Mallorca and Palma as international benchmarks in the field of contemporary university art.
>> UIB Vice Chancellor Yolanda González: “ADEMA shares our academic standards, our passion for education and our commitment to building the future through knowledge, creativity and values.”.
The new ADEMA Campus at Coll d’en Rabassa was in full swing this afternoon for the official opening of the major exhibition of the University Art Biennial – Art Week 2025, an unprecedented event in the Balearic Islands that has made Mallorca an international benchmark for contemporary university art.
This exhibition brings together a selection of works created by student artists from 21 fine arts faculties around the world. Each university contributed a unique perspective through proposals that explore contemporary languages, diverse formats, and specific cultural contexts.
The result has left no one indifferent. The ADEMA Campus has become a research laboratory where one can experience the most avant-garde trends of the moment. From multimedia installations to expanded painting, through performance, video art, sculpture, textile art, and contextual practices. The exhibition has managed to merge, combine, and establish a dialogue between long-established schools and institutions experimenting with new models of artistic creation and research.
The themes addressed are as diverse as the territories from which they are produced: from historical memory and identity narratives to ecological tensions, migratory displacement, artificial intelligence, queer narratives, and emerging forms of the collective.
During the opening ceremony, ADEMA President Diego González thanked all the students and faculty from all participating universities, as well as the jury and collaborators. He also noted that “this biennial consolidates ADEMA’s mission as a space for excellent artistic training, promoting internationalization and building bridges with educational centers committed to innovation and this type of event. We are very proud to be the organizers of a meeting that places Mallorca on the international map of contemporary university art and offers our students a real platform for professionalization, dialogue, and growth,” he stated.
González also emphasized that “events like this are a true engine of transformation for the educational community, transcending the exhibition space and opening up new possibilities for collaboration between institutions, artists, and international communities.”
In this regard, Amparo Sard, director of the University Art Biennial, agreed: “This University Art Biennial not only highlights the artistic potential of a new generation, but also proposes a transdisciplinary map of emerging art, where the local and the global intersect and are constantly reshaped.”
“We are very satisfied with the work done by the university delegations because the Fine Arts need real meeting spaces where academic and professional aspects connect,” Amparo Sard argued.
During the presentations, both the president of the Balearic Government, Marga Prohens, and the deputy mayor, Javier Bonet, congratulated the ADEMA team on this initiative, highlighting its pioneering nature and its contribution to positioning Mallorca and Palma as international benchmarks in the field of contemporary university art.
The President of the Government, Marga Prohens, celebrated the launch of the international biennial, which places the Balearic Islands on the international map of contemporary creation, “reaffirming culture as one of our hallmarks.”
For Deputy Mayor Javier Bonet and Jaime Martínez, “events like this one today recognize and reinforce our image as a space for meeting, training, and fostering new generations of creators. Especially because they combine two fields with enormous transformative potential: art and the university world. A proposal that showcases emerging talent and, at the same time, fosters our shared commitment to art and culture as a city.”
For her part, UIB Vice-Rector Dr. Yolanda González welcomed ADEMA’s initiative, which “has created an unprecedented ecosystem of artistic exchange, bringing together students from Princeton, Berlin, London, Basel, Gdańsk, and many more. Each institution contributes its unique cultural perspective, artistic language, and pedagogical approach, enriching everyone in the process.”
“At the UIB, we are proud to accompany ADEMA on this exciting adventure. As a center affiliated with the UIB, ADEMA shares our academic standards, our passion for education, and our commitment to building the future through knowledge, creativity, and values. At the UIB, we believe that the university should be not only a place of learning, but also a place of connection, where students face real challenges, where knowledge becomes action, and where art meets life. This Biennial embodies that mission perfectly,” explained González.
Finally, Guillem Ginard, the island’s director of culture for the Consell de Mallorca, stated that “our institution is proud to support a biennial that places university artistic creation at the center of critical thinking, innovation, and academic excellence.”
The event was also attended by the mayors of Inca, Calvià, and Alaró, Virgilio Moreno, Juan Antonio Amengual, and Llorenç Perelló, respectively; the regional secretary of Culture and Sport, Pedro Vidal; the general coordinator of Culture for Palma City Council, Fernando Gómez de la Cuesta; the director of the Es Baluard Museum, David Barro; the president of Art Palma Contemporani, Fran Reus; the director of the la Caixa “Caixa Forum” Foundation, Margarita Pérez Villegas; the managing director and director of Art for the Barceló Foundation, José María Navarro and Pilar Pujol; and the president of the Cercle de Belles Arts de Palma, Pedro J. Lorente, among others.
It’s worth remembering that the awards ceremony will take place next Friday, June 6th, at 7:30 p.m. at Es Baluard. The awards ceremony will feature a total of twelve categories, presenting a total of twelve awards celebrating creativity and emerging talent.
· Barceló Group Emerging Artist Award
Sponsored by the Barceló Group, this award grants a first prize of €5,000 to the most outstanding work presented at the Biennial. The winning work will become part of the Biennial’s official collection and will be exhibited. Two honorable mentions will also be awarded to recognize other exceptional works, without any monetary prize.
· Award for the Best Institutional Proposal
This category recognizes the most relevant proposal submitted by a participating institution, with an honorary first prize. Two honorable mentions will also be awarded. This prize does not include a cash prize.
· Can Pep Nebot Residency Award
In collaboration with Quartier am Hafen (Germany), this award offers a one-month artistic research residency in Son Servera (Mallorca).
· ADEMA Residency and Acquisition Award
This award offers an artist residency at ADEMA, focused on the development of a new project. Upon completion of the residency, the resulting work will be acquired by ADEMA and incorporated into its institutional collection.
· Art Palma Contemporani Award
A one-year Master’s scholarship at ADEMA University School, awarded to an artist selected in collaboration with Art Palma Contemporani.
· Xavier Fiol Gallery Award
One artist will be selected to participate in a group exhibition curated by gallery owner Xavier Fiol, which will take place during the Nit de l’Art 2025 in Palma.
· Prize awarded by popular vote
International jury of renowned professionals
These awards will be evaluated by an international jury composed of leading figures from the world of art and culture. Claudia Tittel (curator of the European Capital of Culture 2025 of Chemnitz in Germany, art and culture scientist, curator), Wendy Anderson (director of International Development-University of Arts London, artist and curator), Amparo Sard (head of Studies of the Degree in Fine Arts at ADEMA and artist), Adriana Polveroni (artistic director of the Modern and Contemporary Art Fair Arte in Nuvola in Rome), Anita Beckers (gallerist), David Barro (director of Es Baluard Museu d’Es Baluard Museu d’Arte in Nuvola, in Rome), Anita Beckers (gallery owner), David Barro (director of Es Baluard Museu d’Art Contemporani de Palma), Alejandro Romero (Coordinator of the Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale for both the Contemporary Art and Architecture editions and coordinator of Visual Arts at AECID), Xavier Fiol (gallery owner-Art Palma Contemporani) and Pilar Pujol (Art director of the Barceló Foundation).
The University Art Biennial – Art Week 2025 is supported by the Barceló Hotel Group, the Balearic Islands Government, the Balearic Institute of Studies, the Consell de Mallorca, Palma City Council, Inca City Council, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Estrella Damm, Es Baluard Museum of Contemporary Art, Endesa, and the Baleària Foundation.
Participating universities:
1. Princeton University (USA)
2. Universität der Künste Berlin (Germany)
3. Columbia College Chicago (USA)
4. University of Arts London UAL-Chelsea College (UK)
5. FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel (Switzerland)
6. Aarhus School of Architecture (Denmark)
7. IUAV Università luav di Venezia (Italy)
8. Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk (Poland)
9. Academy of Fine Arts of Macerata (Italy)
10. ADEMA University School of Fine Arts (Spain)
11. Brera Academy of Fine Arts of Milan (Italy)
12. École Européenne Supérieure d’Art de Bretagne (France)
13. HfBK Dresden University of Fine Arts (Germany)
14. IPMT Lviv Polytechnic National University (Ukraine)
15. Royal Danish Academy (Denmark)
16. Weißensee Academy of Art and Design Berlin
17. Academy of Fine Arts Munich
18. Universidad de La Laguna (Spain)
19. Universidad del País Vasco Euskal Herriko Unibersitatea (Spain)
20. University of Art and Design Cluj Napoca (Romania)
21. Universidad de Málaga (España)