CRAFT Happening: Aluminum, Transfers, and Ghostly Presences

Presented by: ESPRONCEDA – Institute of Art & Culture

Venue: C/ Espronceda 326, Naves 4–5, 08027 Barcelona

Date: Friday, 12 June 2026

Time: 10:00–14:30

Fee: Free of charge (All materials covered by ESPRONCEDA)

Capacity: 20 participants (Priority given to artists and artisans from Barcelona and surroundings)

Requirement: Participants must bring their own laptop or tablet

Application Deadline: 9 June 2026 (Register via google form) 

Are you an artist or craft practitioner interested in working with industrial matter, exploring the boundaries of material transformation, and confronting ecological fragility through collective work?

CRAFT Happening:  Aluminum, Transfers, and Ghostly Presences is an exclusive one-day Craft Happening led by visual artist Guillermo del Valle. Organized by ESPRONCEDA – Institute of Art & Culture under the European project Craftwork 4.0 ALL, this temporary laboratory invites creators to experiment with aluminum and image transfers to reflect on ecological fragility and climate displacement.

What to expect

• A pure co-creation process: You won’t just work on a solo piece; we will operate as a single collective to design and build a unified, large-scale installation.
• Digital-to-physical production: Learn how to source and invert digital imagery to transfer it directly onto metallic surfaces, creating a visual language of transparencies and ghostly forms.
• A collaborative laboratory: A vibrant environment to share insights with creators, artists, and metal enthusiasts from Barcelona and surroundings.

What you will gain

• Advanced material skills: Practical experience in combining digital media with traditional and industrial metalwork.
• Exhibition opportunity: The collective artwork created during this session will be selected to be showcased at the ESPRONCEDA CRAFT Festival (from the 2th to the 4th of December), held within the prestigious framework of the 30th Anniversary of Drap-Art at ESPRONCEDA.
• International framework: Your contribution will be documented as part of the European research for the Craftwork 4.0 ALL project and aligned with the official values of the New European Bauhaus.

Completely FREE of Charge

Thanks to the co-funding of the Creative Europe programme, participation in this professional workshop is completely free. ESPRONCEDA covers 100% of the materials, tools, and studio space required for the production.

Workshop description: A co-creation process

We are pleased to invite you to participate in DESPLAZADOS II, an exclusive, hands-on workshop led by Chilean visual artist Guillermo del Valle. Designed as a collective temporary laboratory, this initiative invites creators to explore ecological fragility, climate displacement, and material transformation.

Participants will operate as a single collective to design and build a unified, large-scale installation. The physical production phase will heavily focus on manipulating metals and aluminum, echoing the material language used in Guillermo del Valle’s solo exhibition, to reflect on our interdependence with the environment.

Schedule

• 10:00–12:00 | Concept consensus & digital sourcing The day begins with an open group dialogue. Every participant will propose sustainability concepts (e.g., climate displacement, water scarcity, habitat loss) to collectively select the single theme that will guide the artwork. Using their own laptops or tablets, participants will then source and edit digital images, converting them into inverted black-and-white formats to be printed for physical integration.
• 12:00–14:30 | Hands-on production The core of the day. Working collaboratively in the studio, the group will use the metal elements and printed media, synthesizing the chosen concept into the final collective sculptural installation.

Who is this workshop for?

• Professionals, artists and craftsmen already working with aluminium and metals
• Practitioners particularly interested in learning more about and experimenting with this specific technique.
• Sculptors and visual artists
• Craftworkers, makers, and artisans
• Designers and architects
• Art and design students
• Anyone interested in ecology, material culture, and collaborative artistic practices

No specific prior experience with metalworking is required. Participants are encouraged to bring curiosity, a collaborative spirit, and a willingness to experiment.

About the mentor – Guillermo del Valle

Guillermo del Valle is a Chilean visual artist whose practice focuses on sustainability, the defense of threatened ecosystems, and the relationship between territory, memory, and displacement. His current research centers on the ecological vulnerability of wetlands, bridging the gap between natural ecosystems and urban industrial expansion. He currently resides part of the year in Barcelona.

www.guillermodelvalle.com

About Craftwork 4.0 ALL

Craftwork 4.0 ALL is a European project co-funded by the Creative Europe programme that explores the meeting point between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary digital methodologies. Through international labs, happenings, and collaborative encounters, the project connects artists, technologists, and makers to develop new hybrid forms of cultural transmission. This project is also part of ESPRONCEDA’s New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative.

www.craftwork4all.com

More info:
www.espronceda.net / www.craftwork4all.com

Questions? Please send us an email: info@espronceda.net