Fundación La Caixa, a major provider of accessible art and science exhibitions and content in Spain and Portugal, will tour original exhibitions including Mirrors and Talking Brains across Europe with sales support from the American Museum of Natural History’s department of global business development.
Fundación La Caixa (“La Caixa” Foundation) aims to facilitate access to science and art for all, having developed one of the largest programs of touring exhibitions and context in the world as funded by CaixaBank.
The La Caixa Foundation works to deliver social programs, educational initiatives, research and health advances, and cultural and scientific programming across Spain and Portugal and runs the internationally renowned CosmoCaixa science museum in Barcelona and CaixaForum at locations across Spain.
The Foundation has a long history of developing touring exhibitions and outreach programs delivered using vehicles which convert into exhibitions.
In 2022, the Foundation’s travelling exhibitions were seen by more than 7 million visitors in Spain and Portugal. As of this year, the Foundation has a total of 34 exhibitions on tour, including 10 new shows that will be shown at 10 or more venues across a three- to four-year run. However, it is only within the last five years that the Foundation’s touring exhibitions have offered a unique combination of science and art.
Content for all ages & levels of expertise
Javier Hidalgo Gil, head of science exhibition and science content at Fundación La Caixa, says:
“We began this approach because the art and science departments are neighbors. We started chatting, and at one point we realized we had more in common than we thought. That’s when we started working together to create a multi-disciplinary approach that would enrich visitors’ experience. All content is for general audiences, there is no one demographic target. Content is for all ages and levels of expertise; we are trying to reach as many people as possible.”
Recent touring exhibitions from the Foundation include Mirrors and Talking Brains. Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking Glass, Mirrors takes visitors on a journey of interactive experiences using mirrors to explore the idea that reality can be observed from different viewpoints using the surprising properties of different types of mirrors and their scientific and technical applications.
In Talking Brains, visitors examine the flow of languages and how they function in an immersive experience that features neurosciences, genetics, biology, anatomy, and human evolution through multimedia and a VR experience exploring a brain.
The Foundation has developed innovative approaches for touring exhibitions to a wide geographical area.
“We are continually improving the exhibition, even when it’s been travelling to a couple of
venues down the road. The audiences in Sevilla don’t have the same expectations as the
ones in Barcelona,” explains Hidalgo Gil.
“Since we adapt to appeal to the widest audiences, I have no doubt our exhibitions can appeal to a visitor in Montreal or Denver. We are ready for very different audiences. We are excited to be able to present our content in the rest of Europe and the world, with thanks to the American Museum of Natural History, a natural collaborator as we both have longstanding travelling exhibition programs and mission-driven goals.”
Among other travelling exhibitions and engaging Space Shows, the American Museum of Natural History’s department of global business development is currently touring an engaging and interactive exhibition that explores climate change, at a crucial time for the planet. The exhibition, Planet Ice: Mysteries of the Ice Ages, is touring on behalf of the Canadian Museum of Nature and aims to help visitors understand that we need the planet’s ice to maintain a sustainable way of living.
All images courtesy of Fundación La Caixa
