The Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM) is set to unveil the exhibitions of two projects selected for the 'Artists in Residence' 2026 programme. This initiative, aimed at the regional and national artistic community, allows for the development and exhibition of new works at this art centre operated by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria.
The exhibitions by Canary Islands visual artist Maï Diallo and Aragonese creator Alberto Gil Cásedas will open on Friday, 30 October, at 20:00 in the main venue of CAAM. Both proposals engage with installation and conceptual art through diverse disciplines, including drawing, sculpture, and context-specific creation.
The exhibitions will be accessible to the public until 31 January 2027 on the second floor of the museum, with free admission. A press event was held today, featuring both artists alongside Serafín Sánchez Cabrera, the island's Director of Culture for the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, and Orlando Britto Jinorio, the director of CAAM. During the event, they expressed solidarity and respect for the families affected by a serious train accident that occurred yesterday in Toledo.
Maï Diallo's 'Memoria Corporal'
Maï Diallo's project, titled 'Memoria Corporal', delves into the echoes of specific violences inflicted on the female body across generations. This sculptural video installation, created in collaboration with the workshops of the Escuela de Arte y Superior de Diseño Gran Canaria, focuses on the interplay between medical knowledge, racism, colonialism, and reproductive control. Diallo's work investigates the dynamics of power over historically dehumanised subjects, particularly women and people of African descent. Her artistic approach highlights the exploration of the body, balancing between the organic and the artificial. In addition to her research and curatorial work, Diallo has featured in both solo and group exhibitions across Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Madrid, and La Rioja.
Alberto Gil Cásedas' '3.682,14 m²'
Alberto Gil Cásedas' project centres on the main building of CAAM. Titled '3.682,14 m²: Derivas y reconstrucción de un espacio', the artist examines the relationship between movement, repetition, architecture, and memory through an installation comprising drawing pieces, paper interventions, and museum signage elements. His proposal engages with Georges Perec's work 'Tentativa de agotar un lugar parisino' (1975), which was based on observations made over three days in the Place Saint-Sulpice. Gil Cásedas' approach employs memory as a tool for knowledge, using walking as a means of exploration and drawing as a representation of that attentive journey. His work often incorporates the cataloguing of everyday actions, highlighting the loss of time and moments that feel absurd or unproductive. Since 2013, Gil Cásedas has held solo exhibitions and participated in group shows in numerous Spanish cities, including Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia, as well as international contemporary art fairs.
Continuing the tradition
This marks the eighth edition of the CAAM's public 'Artists in Residence' programme, which received a total of 63 proposals in 2026. The jury comprised museum staff and two representatives from artistic associations in the Canary Islands, namely the Asociación Islas Canarias de Artistas Visuales (AICAV) and the Instituto de Arte Contemporáneo (IAC). Established since its inaugural edition in 2017, the initiative aims to promote artistic creation, research activities, and collaboration among professionals from diverse backgrounds, while also enhancing visibility for creators from the archipelago and across Spain.
The opening of both exhibitions is part of CAAM's winter exhibition programme, which will also feature a major retrospective of Canary Islands artist Leopoldo Emperador, opening on 6 November, and a project dedicated to the work of creator Rossy de Palma on 4 December.
