APLEC is the context that connects the annual residents selected through open call. Through two gatherings held at Graner, one at the beginning and one at the end of the year, we offer a space of recognition and celebration to build a community that stays connected throughout the year, beyond the periods the artists physically spend at Graner.
At the first gathering of 2026, the artists in residence selected through open call were able to share the body practice proposed by Natalia Fernandes, Anatomia inventada (Invented Anatomy), and had time for project presentations. Each resident decides whether to present their body of work, the specific project that will pass through Graner during the year, or the questions occupying them in the phase of creation they are in at that moment. A dynamic of listening, questions and answers emerged, linked to the Graner archive and to the project documenting creative processes that we call Black Box (Caixa Negra). It involves creating a container of materials that serve as a trace of the creative or research process that the resident artist carries out at Graner. The starting point for the Black Box was precisely the questions that each resident gathered from their peers during the project presentation. At this gathering we presented the speculative narrative written by Joaquín Collado using the materials from the 2025 Black Box.
The Graner team also presented the facility’s lines of work, opening up spaces of permeable governance and feedback from residents. The second gathering takes place at the end of the year, with more of an evaluative character. The Aplec also included the participation of Maria José Cifuentes and Marc Olivé, representing the Mercat de les Flors. After the presentations, spaces for relaxation and socializing were created.
Participants in the first Aplec 2026 gathering (20 February): Joaquín Collado, Natalia Fernandes, Guillem Jiménez, Javier J Hedrosa, Amaranta Velarde, Mila Ercoli, Inka Romaní and Jordi Latorre in person, and Laila Tafur, Yinka Esi Graves and Cristóbal Saavedra online.
