València inaugurates the CaixaForum València, the Agora of Design and other artistic offerings

The city of Valencia - 2022’s World Design Capital - is opening new cultural centres and transforming itself with artistic displays to showcase its contribution to the world of design, art and architecture. 

The starting point is in the very heart of the city, Plaza del Ayuntamiento, which, following two months of work, has been transformed into an open Ágora pavilion. The aim is to make design accessible to everyone with an array of different activities throughout the year. Also open is the CaixaForum València - 8,200 square metres inside the Agora building of the City of Arts and Sciences. Meanwhile at the Mariana visitors can find Ron Arad 720° - a monumental construction known as Curtain Call where various works by prominent artists are projected every day until the end of the summer.  

CaixaForum València is open 

Following almost two years of renovation and an investment of 19 million euros by the la Caixa Foundation, the City of Arts and Sciences is celebrating the opening of a new space. The Ágora renovation was done under the guidance of Enric Ruiz-Geli, director of Cloud 9 Studio and professor at Virginia Tech University. Visitors can now enjoy 8,200 square metres of different exhibition spaces and installations. 

The exhibitions range from the history of ancient Egypt, with monumental statues and precious relics of historic temples from the British Museum, to works from the la Caixa Foundation Contemporary Art Collection, which explores landscape as a representation of nature over the last few centuries. The third inaugural project that makes up this premiere is #LaNube{IA}, an interactive experience on the opportunities and challenges of the application of artificial intelligence in education.  

Ágora València - the greatest design square in the world 
The city centre has turned into a meeting point for locals and visitors to get closer to architecture and design. Designed by Miguel Arraiz, architect and project director of València World Design Capital 2022, and firms Arqueha Arquitectura y Urbanismo and Cosín Estudio, the pavilion is built with wood, traditionally used for the fallas, and MDi, similar to ceramics, which combines tradition and the avant-garde. The space will host different workshops, exhibitions, conferences and meetings throughout the year. Ágora València takes over from pavilions previously installed in other capitals such as Helsinki and Taipei. 

Live an immersive experience with "Ron Arad 720°" at The Marina 

The World Capital of Design programme includes an immersive experience courtesy of the Hortensia Herrero Foundation called Ron Arad 720°. A sensational construction consisting of an eight-metre curtain and 5,600 silicone rods suspended from an 18-metre diameter ring, Ron Arad 720° includes a selection of works from artists such as Javier Mariscal & David Shrigley, SDNA, Mat Collishaw and Greenaway & Greenaway projected on the structure. It can be seen both from inside and outside the ring that forms this curtain. The exhibition is free of charge and features shows every day between 9:30 PM - 1 AM until 28 August 2022.

The culture and artistic calendar is full of incredible programmes, including a full music schedule for the coming months which can be found here.

Please see the following link for Imagery of the CaixaForum València.