The ENAIRE Foundation is showing an outdoor projection by renowned Spanish photographer José Manuel Ballester on the façade of the Naves de Gamazo

Today, Friday, 1 September at 10:00 p.m., an outdoor projection by photographer José Manuel Ballester will be shown on the façade of the Naves de Gamazo. This event, open to the public as part of the programming of PHotoESPAÑA Santander, will have 8 showings lasting 11 minutes each, and will provide a great opportunity to admire the work of one of the most important artists in contemporary photography. A unique show where the works break down barriers and are shown outside the Naves de Gamazo, which in July marked two years since opening.

The video piece is titled Ah, mio cor! and is part of the ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art, by the artist José Manuel Ballester, which is inspired by the 18th-century opera Alcina, by German Baroque composer Georg Friedrich Händel, and includes photographs and videos by the author that portray the plot of the opera.

This activity is part of the ENAIRE Foundation's participation in the 5th edition of PHotoESPAÑA Santander

José Manuel Ballester is a Madrid artist, painter, photographer and also a great music lover. He was presented the ENAIRE Foundation 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award. This recognition is on top of the National Engraving Award (1999), the Goya Painting Prize of the City of Madrid (2006), the Photography Award of the Community of Madrid (2008), the National Photography Award (2010) and other awards he has received throughout his career.

Work adapted to the Gamazo Ships

In the words of the author, who worked on adapting this work for the façade of the Naves de Gamazo: "The video relies on images to illustrate the emotional contradictions of Alcina: a queen who is humiliated in her power as ruler and in her true love for Ruggiero, when she is questioned and rebuffed. The aria sings of her pain. The combination of real images is related to power in her role as a wizard, and the abstract images in relation to her most intimate love, also damaged by young Ruggiero's rejection. The reaction of the character's wounded pride that she represents in her role as queen, and the most intimate pain due to his unrequited love. The notes of Händel's sublime composition dictate the sequences shown in the video and lend its name to this work, completed in 2008."

It is the third year that the Naves de Gamazo is taking part in the
PHotoESPAÑA festival in Santander with a nighttime projection. In the past two years, the ENAIRE Foundation commissioned Javier Riera and Isabel Muñoz to make adaptations of their works to project on the façade of the Naves de Gamazo.

In addition, on this special occasion, the Naves de Gamazo will remain open until 10:00 p.m., making it possible to visit Alberto García-Alix's exhibit, Fantasías en el Prado, which is also part of the official schedule of the PHotoESPAÑA Santander festival.

About ENAIRE

ENAIRE is the air navigation service provider in Spain.

As a company of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, it provides en route control services for all flights and overflights from five control centres in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Gran Canaria and Palma, as well as approach services to every airport in the country.

In addition, 46 airports receive ENAIRE's communication, navigation and surveillance services, and 21 airports, including the country's busiest, rely on its aerodrome control services.

ENAIRE is Europe's fourth largest air traffic manager and participates in the A6 Alliance, a coalition of air navigation providers responsible for over 80% of European air traffic, and which is seeking to modernise the air traffic management system. It is also a member of other international alliances promoting the Single European sky, such as SESAR Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, iTEC, CANSO and ICAO.

ENAIRE, as the agency appointed by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda to implement the U-space system in Spain, will be the provider of the Common Information Services (CIS), which are essential for administering U-space services to drones and Urban Air Mobility, in interaction with local air traffic control services, so that all types of aircraft can fly safely in the same airspace.

ENAIRE has received the highest score in Europe on the aviation safety key performance indicator. It has also been awarded the EFQM 500 Seal for its safe, efficient, innovative and sustainable management of air navigation services.

The work of the ENAIRE Foundation

The ENAIRE Foundation is a cultural organisation linked to ENAIRE. Its objectives include the fostering of aeronautical culture and the preservation, expansion and spreading of ENAIRE's artistic heritage. This heritage consists of a notable collection of Spanish and Ibero-American art, spanning from the second half of the twentieth century to the present day, and encompassing more than a thousand works of all types. In addition, since last July, the ENAIRE Foundation has had a permanent venue for the ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art at the Naves de Gamazo in Santander.