Fundación Arena

Equal opportunity and cultural work

Fundación Arena is a private nonprofit based in Barcelona. Its main goal is equal social rights and opportunities for gay and lesbian communities. Its work has two areas: cultural programs and social action.

Arts scholarships and awards

Since 2005, the foundation has offered two annual visual-arts scholarships, in painting and photography. The foundation describes them as the only awards of their kind in Spain promoting artistic work in the LGBTQ+ community.

It also presented the Fundación Arena GLBTQ Narrative Award annually from 2005, previously called the Terenci Moix Award, until the foundation discontinued it. It now presents the Aladino Nespral Award of Fundación Privada Arena. The 15th edition aims to use the arts to share the experiences of LGBTQ+ people and raise awareness about eliminating discrimination.

The foundation also presents the José M.ª Vidal Visual Arts Award in painting, photography, and video. In the 2017 edition, the winners were Bartolomé Limón for painting, Álex Pagán for photography, and Edu Fernández for video.

Exhibitions and events

The foundation organizes exhibitions, including a March show devoted to painter José Luis Almeida, born in Buenos Aires in 1982 and living in Barcelona since 1986, whose work centers on the character “Dadde.” It also hosts book events, such as a presentation of Detrás de las persianas by Isabel Franc, published by the City of Barcelona in 2024, at an event held at the Guild of Manufacturers of Sabadell.

Contact

• Address: 135 C/ Calabria, 08015 Barcelona
• Email: info@fundacionarena.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/Fundacion.Arena.Pagina.Oficial/