Since 1994 renowned artists have passed through the Art Workshops, spending a coupe of weeks closely working with young artists from all over the world who come to Santander for this activity.
Juan Uslé, Gabriel Orozco, Juliâo Sarmento, Miroslaw Balka, Antoni Muntadas, Jannis Kounellis, Mona Hatoum, Paul Graham, Lothar Baumgarten, Tacita Dean, Carlos Garaicoa, Julie Mehretu, Joan Jonas, Carsten Höller, Cristina Iglesias, Martin Creed, Damián Ortega y Roni Horn are just some of the artists-directors that have worked with the Fundación Botín.
Workshop by SOLANGE PESSOA
Solange Pessoa will lead a workshop in Santander from September 21 to 29, 2026, titled Gardens of Delirium and organised by Fundación Botín.
Workshop by Solange Pessoa
From 21 to 29 September 2026, Fundación Botín will host in Santander the workshop Gardens of Delirium, led by Brazilian artist Solange Pessoa. The artist proposes an immersion into her artistic practice, which is deeply rooted in the earth and the cycles of nature.
This workshop is structured as a space for visual, philosophical and poetic explorations focusing on gardens, squares, parks and natural environments in and around Santander, exploring their microcosms and memories. Participants will engage in processes of observation, reflection and creation in natural spaces, accompanied by photographic and audiovisual documentation of the activities.
The workshop is closely linked to the exhibition Of Day or Night, an exhibition that connects early research and work from the 1990s with ambitious formal developments of those investigations in the present decade. It will take place at Centro Botín in Santander from 10 October 2026 to 28 March 2027.
Solange Pessoa (born 1961 in Ferros, Brazil) lives and works in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Since 1993, for more than two decades, she was a professor at The Guignard University of Art of Minas Gerais (UEMG), making a significant contribution to Brazil’s artistic and academic communities. In 1996–1997 she received a grant from
the Pollock-Krasner Foundation.
Her solo exhibitions at institutions include Outras escalas – Desenhos, vídeos, instalações, Itaú Cultural, São Paulo (2026), Catch the Sun with Your Hand, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen (2025); Pilgrim Fields, Tramway, Glasgow (2025); Solange Pessoa, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz (2023); Longilonge, Ballroom Marfa, Marfa (2019); Metaflor-Metaflora, Museu Mineiro, Belo Horizonte (2013); Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Belo Horizonte (2008); Museu da Inconfidência, Ouro Preto (2000); Palácio das Artes, Belo Horizonte (1995); and Centro Cultural São Paulo, São Paulo (1992). She has also taken part in numerous group exhibitions in Brazil and abroad, notably Arts of the Earth, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (2025); More than Human, Design Museum London (2025–2026) and Museum für Gestaltung Zürich (2026); ERASURE, Goodwood Art Foundation (2025); Exposition Générale, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain (2025); Collector #3, Jardin Botanique de Bordeaux and La Petite Escalère (2025); Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles, Barbican Centre, London (2024) and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (2025); The Milk of Dreams, 59th Venice International Biennale, Venice (2022); Reclaim the Earth, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2022); Living Worlds, Fondation Cartier, Lille (2022); Invenção de Origem, Estação Pinacoteca, São Paulo (2018).
Workshop led by
Solange Pessoa
Dates
21-29 September, 2026
Place
Fundación Botín, Santander (Spain)
Schedule
The agenda is yet to be confirmed, but the space at
Fundación Botín will be available from 10 am to 8 pm,
Monday to Friday.
Requirements
Artists and/or students of fine and visual arts, theatre,
film, philosophy, biology or other disciplines related to
art, nature and ecology.
Please note that the workshop will be carried out in
English and that participants to the workshop are
expected to stay for its entire duration.
Materials
Fundación Botín will provide workspace and materials
per the instructions of the workshop director.
Nevertheless, participants will be informed in advance if
they need to bring any materials.
Support
Fundación Botín provides accommodation and breakfast
to all participants who are not residents of Cantabria.
In addition, each participant will also receive a stipend
of 315.-€ as support for the cost of living expenses. This
amount will be paid at the beginning of the workshop,
after filling in and providing the necessary administrative
data.
Selection
A maximum of 15 participants will be chosen by the
director of the workshop.
Fundación Botín will make the decision public, which
shall be final.
Deadlines
Deadline for applications is Monday, 17 August 2026.
The selected candidates will be contacted by Fundación
Botín from 24 August, 2026. All other candidates may
consult the results on the website.
Required documentation
All applications must be submitted electronically in English, via https://fundacionbotin.org/becasconvocatorias/talleres-de-arte/
Please include the following in a single PDF document (max. 4Mb):
• Valid National ID Card or Passport.
• Current address of residency and updated contact details (full name, place of residency, email, telephone number).
• An up to date biography.
• A short text (300 words or less), which outlines the applicant’s interest and motivation in participating in the workshop.
• Portfolio of recent work or a description outlining the
areas or skills in which they have experience.
• 5 to 10 images illustrating the applicant’s artistic practice.
Confirmation of participation
Those selected must confirm their acceptance within the terms and forms indicated by Fundación Botín.
The reservation of a place will be considered formalized once a copy of the travel tickets to Santander that certify the participant’s travel plans on the dates of the workshop has been received.
The participants are responsible for the planning and financial underwriting of their travel to and from Santander.
Observations
The workshop will require creative openness, artistic skills and collaborative work.
Candidates from all over the globe, of all ages and with diverse artistic and academic backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
Please note that applications missing any of the required
documents will not be considered.