Leire Vergara

Leire Vergara is an independent curator who works and lives in Bilbao. Since 2006 till 2009 has worked as chief curator at sala rekalde, Bilbao. During this period her curatorial practice has paid special attention to the production of commissioned projects that encouraged new forms of transcending the limits of the white cube. She also developed a strong commitment with art education through different conferences, workshops and meetings that were pivotal to the exhibitions programme. Some of her most relevant curated exhibitions at sala rekalde include The Return of the Real by Phil Collins, No Bars, Just Bottles by Can Altay, The Coast, the Attack, the Same by Dolores Zinny Juan Maidagan, Recent Projects by Sean Snyder, 1,2, 3 Avant-Gardes Art as Contextual Art Film/Art Between Experiment and Archive (co-curated with Lukasz Ronduda and Florian Zeyfang), Guide to the Wastelands of the Bilbao River Estuary by Lara Almarcegui, Ghost Box by Itziar Okariz, Symmetric Inequality by Haegue Yang and Peter Friedl among many other projects and exhibitions. From 2002 to 2005 co-directed together with Peio Aguirre the independent art production structure called D.A.E (Donostiako Arte Ekinbideak) with base in Donostia-San Sebastián. This structure was an associated project to Arteleku committed to work directed at urban space- understanding this as a site of production- with the aim of generating new forms of conceiving the contemporary transformation of public space. During these years, artists such as Phil Collins, Susan Philipsz, Asier Mendizabal, Asier Pérez, Ainara García, Iñaki Garmendia, Jakob Kolding and Lise Harlev developed new productions in the public space of the city of Donostia-San Sebastián. She participated together with Peio Aguirre, Gorka Eizagirre and Xabier Salaberria in Manifesta 5 with the research project entitled Film Ideal Siempre. She has participated in educational workshops and projects such as Dispositive Workshop at Kunstverein Munchen (2004) and Cork Caucus (2005) and has been involved in the coordination of workshops such as: Collecting, Exhibiting. Art History and the Art of the Present in the Spanish Museums of Contemporary Art, El Escorial (2008), Untitled (15 days) Grand Atelier École des Beaux-arts de Bordeaux (2006-2007), Enthusiasm_archive_workshop Arteleku (2006) and We rule the school, Arteleku (2005). She contributes as writer in some art and cultural magazines and catalogues.