El Conde de Torrefiel La luz de un lago eszenAZ. Dance
18
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#VISUALARTS
#exhibition
Txuspo Poyo
Anónima
Curator: Álvaro de los Ángeles
The exhibition entitled Anónima brings together a large selection of the artistic projects created by Txuspo Poyo (Alsasua, Navarre, 1963) from the 1990s to the present day.
Over the course of his career, Txuspo Poyo has built up an artistic body of work that combines forms of expression and media such as film, video, photography, and installation art through which he explores the intersections between culture, technology, and politics. This monographic selection, curated by the writer and researcher Álvaro de los Ángeles, is an invitation to rediscover the depth and complexity of the artist’s work, and understand how he has anticipated many of the crucial discussions which are now at the heart of contemporary art and global culture.
Anónima, conceived as a reference to inherited popular knowledge, brings together a selection of the works through which the artist has forged his own personal universe. Highlights include Cadáveres exquisitos [Exquisite Corpses], where he adapts hundreds of newspaper obituaries in order to draw attention to the uniqueness of a legacy that forms part of the personal and collective imaginary. Also included are the portraits of the identity, history, and remembrance of investigations such as Izaro, Túnel de La Engaña [The La Engaña Tunnel], or Gabinetes pedagógicos [Pedagogic Cabinets]. In all of them, documentary material provides the thread with which he weaves a multidisciplinary work that unfolds through video, sculpture, and photography.
TXUSPO POYO
Txuspo Poyo is a multidisciplinary artist and graduate in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country (EHU). He pursued further training at the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York and the Center for Advanced Digital Applications of the University of New York. He earned the Gure Artea Award (2006), the Unión Fenosa Award (2008), and has received grants from the Botín Foundation and Multiverso BBVA. He was an artistin-residence at the Spanish Academy in Rome in 2021 and at Tabacalera in 2025.
He has held solo exhibitions at the Artium Museum, La Panera Art Centre, Museum of Art and Design of Costa Rica, and Sala Montcada. He has also taken part in collective exhibitions at centres such as Artist Space (New York), Galleria Nazionale (Rome), Museo Reina Sofía, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Angola Triennale, and File São Paulo.
FROM 19 FEBRUARY TO 17 MAY, 2026
Exhibition Hall
Free admission
ACTIVITIES
Introductory visits
Every Thursday* at 6:30 p.m.
Exhibition Hall
3€ / AZ Cardholders: free admission prior online registration until full capacity is reached
* + Info: p.42
Workshops for schoolchildren
April 17 & 24, May 8 & 15 (Friday)
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Exhibition Hall
+Info: p.34
Sponsored by:
Carmen B. Mikelarena, Louka Butzbach and Mireille StPierre, the artists taking part in the 2025-2026 International Comic Residency, present Flowers, trains and shemonsters.
The exhibition brings together the projects developed during this cross-residency, jointly organised by Azkuna Zentroa – Alhóndiga Bilbao, Maison de la Littérature de Quebec, and Cité Internationale de la Bande Dessinée et de L'image de Angoûleme, with the support of BilbaoArte. Held at Azkuna Zentroa, it takes place midway through this experience, which began in January in Angouleme and concludes in April in Quebec. Over these three months, Carmen B. Mikelarena, Mireille St-Pierre and Louka Butzbach are developing three projects related to the graphic novel, each pursued individually yet within a shared framework.
Louka Butzbach's (Fontenay-sous-Bois, France, 1995) comics are at the crossroads of short story, fable, theatre and the realm of dreams. He is currently working on the story about Julienne and Pepa, “two friends who flee recruitment into the Francoist ranks during an imagined setting of the Spanish Civil War”.
Illustrator Mireille St-Pierre (Rimouski, Canada, 1985) is internationally recognised for portraying human emotions with great sensitivity. Within the framework of this cross-residency, she is working on the graphic novel Le désir comme un cimetière which, as stated by the artist, “explores the traces left by love relationships through a series of autobiographical passages”.
Visual artist Carmen B. Mikelarena (Madrid, 1998) works on projects as a freelance illustrator while pursuing her artistic practice in the field of comics, textile art, ceramics and painting. Her project The Room of the Monsters examines “the historical representation of the bodies of Western mythological creatures from a female perspective.”
La reina del Arga represents a historical reparation for a courageous female tightrope walker, a woman who was ahead of her time. In this work, Tefi de Paz becomes Remigia Echarren to lend voice and corporeality to the figure known as the “Queen of the Rope”, a Pamplona-born artist unfairly consigned to oblivion for many years.
The performance brings together a range of artistic disciplines and techniques, including storytelling, acting, object theatre, illusionism, the visual arts and circus. It is a production with bespoke music and sound design, featuring live voice on stage. It incorporates moving elements, deployable scenes created through pop-up mechanisms, illuminated signage, and the discipline of object theatre. All of this comes together in the idea of the Flea Circus, a circus show driven by the illusion it generates, whose earliest references date back to the sixteenth century.
Estefanía de Paz Asín was awarded the FETEN 2022 prize for Best Performance for this delicate production, which explores the history of the circus arts and the technique of tightrope walking and, above all, that of Remigia Echarren, La reina del Arga.
THURSDAY, 16 APRIL
7.00 p.m. / 55'
Auditorium
Ages 8+
Price: check the website and AZ Info
ARTISTIC INFORMATION
Original concept, artistic creation: Estefanía de Paz Asín
Actress in Spanish language: Estefanía de Paz Asín
Production: Nuria Merencio Fernández
Directed by: Estefanía de Paz Asín
Photography: Kiko Ortega
Music & soundspace: Gorka Pastor
Scenography and atrezzo: Zenzerro, Fernando Varela & Mila García
Constume design, characterisation and make-up design: Elías Angulo Martinez & Estefanía de Paz Asín
Led Silhouette ULTIMATUM
ULTIMATUM is Led Silhouette’s latest contemporary dance stage production, with an innovative focus blending dance, theatre and film. The company founded by Jon Lopez and Martxel Rodriguez in 2016 (Lesaka, Navarre) delves into the contradictions of human beings, tackling deep topics like depression, individualism, loss of common sense, besides social and economic decadence.
Following in the wake of their previous works, ULTIMATUM not only proposes an aesthetical experience but also a critical reflection regarding human vulnerability in the face of a world in ruins, inviting the audience to question the present.
The work proposes a landscape marked by loneliness and silence, where the relationship between the characters is put to the test, challenging the mutual boundaries and care. By means of a high aesthetic level of narrative choreography and visual direction bordering on the cinematographic, ULTIMATUM creates images as brutal as they are beautiful transporting the audience to a sensorial experience beyond the visual.
THURSDAY, 21 MAY
BASQUE COUNTRY PREMIERE
7.00 p.m. / 60'
Auditorium
Price: check the website and AZ Info
ARTISTIC INFORMATION
Authorship: Led Silhouette
Concept & direction: Jon López & Martxel Rodríguez
Performers: Katalin Arana, Laura Lliteras, Edoardo Ramirez, Marcos Martincano, Jon López, Martxel Rodriguez
Centroamérica is an artistic research project on the Central America region, likewise a theatre play and a publication on this territory and its relationship (or lack thereof) with its neighbouring country, Mexico.
Until now the theatre company has used politics as a means for dealing with essential topics, using theatre to take and transform reality. “But this project forced us to try something different,” they admit.
The play recounts the experiences lived during the journeys they undertook to get to know this region, while the book captures their approach to the history of that territory.
After passing through different European venues, Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol is presenting this artistic research project at Azkuna Zentroa, turned into an attempt to close the gap between art and life.
The theatre play narrates the experience lived during the trips they made to try to get to know the region. The scope and complexity of their findings were such that it was impossible to fit them into a single work, thus leading to the creation of a book of the same name, which will be presented on 26 May as part of Gutun Zuria Zabalik.
This work contains the testimonies of exiled Nicaraguan men and women who have told their stories although they cannot be named for reasons of security.
THURSDAY, 28 MAY
7.00 p.m. / 90'
Auditorium
Price: check the website and AZ Info
TUESDAY, 26 MAY
Presentation of the publication Centroamérica
6:30 p.m. / Bastida Hall
+Info: p.21
ARTISTIC INFORMATION
Performance & co-ordination: Luisa Pardo & Lázaro G. Rodríguez
Lighting and space design: Sergio López Vigueras
Curtain design and production: Pedro Pizarro
Direction assistant: Macaria Reyes
General assistant: Janet Vázquez & Manu Guerrero
Poster image: Cecilia Porras Saénz
“María”: Source of archive images: UNAM film archive
Images of Nicaragua 2018: Rafael Camacho & Chilly Smit
Sahatsa Jauregi + Tripak
Azpitik doaz
Sahatsa Jauregi proposes Azpitik doaz (Segada), a gaze through metal that emerges from experiences with other bodies, specifically those of Tripak, the company founded by Andrea Berbois, Maite Mugerza, Marina Suárez and Natalia Suárez.
This mechanised sculptural system evokes images of tools, lead, prosthetic entities, weapons and wars, while serving both as a backdrop and a central figure in a dramaturgy that unfolds in the Atrium of Cultures of Azkuna Zentroa.
The renowned Japanese choreographer Hiroaki Umeda is presenting two solos at Azkuna Zentroa. These pieces reflect the holistic and innovative approach of his practice, bringing together dance, digital arts, lighting design, projection, mapping, and sound and visual creation.
Split Flow is the choreographed version of the light installation of the same name commissioned by the Netherlands Van Abbe Museum in 2011. In this choreography, Umeda includes movements at different speeds, strengths and scales during a continuous smooth dance flow. Split Flow challenges the limits of human visual perception, offering the audience an immersive experience where speed, visualised through the artist’s physical movement, renders visible a reality that would otherwise remain unseen.
Following this performance, Umeda stages Assimilating, one of his most recent works. In this solo, body movement fully interacts with optical, sound and spatiotemporal fields. Umeda incorporates a dramatic lighting design, with avantgarde video projections and electronic sound landscapes to create an intense and immersive sensory experience for the audience.
THURSDAY, 11 JUNE
7:00 p.m. / 20’ each piece
Double programme / Auditorium
Price: check the website and AZ Info
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Late admission to the auditorium will not be allowed once the performance has begun.
ARTISTIC INFORMATION
Split Flow
Choreography & Dance: Hiroaki Umeda
Sound & Lighting Design: S20
Production: S20
Coproduction: Théâtre Louis Aragon, scène conventionnée danse de Tremblay-en-France, Stereolux – Nantes
Year: 2013, 2014
Assimilating
Behaviour Design, Dance: Hiroaki Umeda
Sound Design: Hiroaki Umeda
Visual Design&Programming: Hiroaki Umeda
Production: S20
Co-production: Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse No.1
Producer: Suzuko Tanoiri
El Conde de Torrefiel
La luz de un lago
La luz de un lago is the new stage device of El Conde de Torrefiel. It is structured around sound-based tools with the purpose of researching the possibilities of both poetic and theatrical imagery beyond the material and visual.
Since its beginnings, the company has worked around questions regarding the future and temporality, reflecting on a present that seems both unchanging and evershifting. Today, when representing the world on “a human scale” proves insufficient, El Conde de Torrefiel invites us to imagine it through sound.
On this occasion, the plot revolves around the production of a film where the stories of a little girl, a beggar, and a dancer are entwined, all of whom are faced with the gradual loss of sight. It thus invites reflection on the symbolic blindness brought about by the overabundance of visual stimuli.
La luz de un lago proposes a sensorial experience where images arise paradoxically due to the absence of image and where sound rears up as a compass of time and space.
THURSDAY, 25 JUNE
7:00 p.m. / 90'
Auditorium
Price: check the website and AZ Info
ARTISTIC INFORMATION
Idea & creation: El Conde de Torrefiel
Direction, text & dramaturgy: Tanya Beyeler & Pablo Gisbert
On stage: Mireia Donat Melús, Mauro Molina, Isaac Torres
Scenographic design: El Conde de Torrefiel & Isaac Torres
Space & materials: El Conde de Torrefiel & La Cuarta Piel
The podcast Sabor a queer invites us to question established beliefs in the company of guests whose position and work further the deconstruction of the traditional and the defence of the queer and the diverse. So far, more than 70 personalities from the LGTBIQ+ community across the national scene have sat down to talk in this space for communication and reflection led by David Velduque, a renowned film director and producer of projects and formats with a diverse outlook.
In each chapter, Velduque engages in conversation with figures of considerable media exposure and with individuals who do not usually feature in mainstream media, but who are influential through their work in raising awareness and promoting dissemination.
The broadcasting of this podcast live from the Auditorium forms part of the co-operation agreement entered into between Azkuna Zentroa-Alhóndiga Bilbao and Zinegoak, the Bilbao gaylesbotrans International Film and Performing Arts Festival, which will be held from 22 to 29 June. More information on page 27
SATURDAY, 27 JUNE
12:30 p.m.
Auditorium
Price: check the website and AZ Info
ARTISTIC INFORMATION
Director and host: David Velduque Production: neurads
Bilbao Basque Fest
2026
The Bilbao Basque Fest programme at Azkuna Zentroa places music at its core, highlighting identity, emotion and encounter through some of the most representative voices on the Basque scene. It features a singular concert alongside the presentation of new works by Basque creators.
1, 2 & 3 APRIL
Atrium of Cultures
Free admission + Info: basquefest.bilbao.eus
WEDNESDAY, 1 APRIL
7.00 p.m. | Anjel Duhalde & Niko Etxart Concert
Bilbao Basque Fest opens with a one-off concert given by two great Basque music legends. Anje Duhalde, founder and component of the rock/folk group Errobia at the end of the 70s.
On this occasion, he joins forces with Niko Etxart, a singer from Zuberoa, a pioneer of rock performed in the Basque language and one of the foremost exponents of traditional vocal repertoire.
THURSDAY, 2 APRIL
5:30 p.m. | Banda de Txistularis de Bilbao + Garazi Navas+ Oinkari Dantza Taldea Concert
The Bilbao txistularis group will be offering some insights into Basque music and culture. They will be accompanied by the accordionist Garazi Navas. The members of the Oinkari dance troupe will also be taking part, adding colour and movement to the performance.
7.00 p.m. | Olaia Inziarte Concert
Olaia Inziarte presents Zerrautsa (2025) in the Bilbao Basque Fest. The Navarrese singer and composer’s second album stands as a celebration of emotions and authenticity; an open invitation to share through its lyrics and music. Zerrautsa unfolds as a journey towards the discovery of one’s inner self through the rawest of emotions and vulnerability.
FRIDAY, 3 APRIL
7.00 p.m. | Maren Concert
Maren (Bilbao, 2002) began writing songs as a game when she was a child, and it wasn’t long before music became her mode of expression and her way of understanding the world around her.
In 2021 she released her first album, Margaritas y Lavanda, with which she toured some of the most important venues around the country. She subsequently consolidated her artistic practice with Qué Lástima, a record conceived for live performance that combines rock influences with current sounds.
ESAD Fest
International Festival of Drama Schools
Azkuna Zentroa is one of the venues for the third edition of ESAD Fest, the Spanish International Festival of Drama Schools, hosted this year by Dantzerti, the Basque Higher School of Dramatic Art and Dance.
Representatives from 17 autonomic and foreign schools are attending the biennial in Bilbao to share a diverse programme of activities, lectures, courses and stage performances related to dance and circus arts.
5, 6 & 7 MAY (TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY)
+ Info: dantzerti.eus
Gau Zuria
Azkuna Zentroa – Alhóndiga Bilbao joins Gau Zuria, the White Night commemorating the anniversary of Bilbao’s foundation, through a programme of art and culture to be held on the nights of 19 and 20 June.
19 & 20 JUNE (FRIDAY & SATURDAY)
+ Info: bilbao.eus
Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol Centroamérica
Centroamérica, an artistic research project about the region of the same name, is both a stage production and a publication that will be presented by the company Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol in May at Azkuna Zentroa.
The project originally began as a theatre piece centred on a territory about which, as the company explains, “we know nothing in Mexico.
Through their research, they discovered a region that functions as a laboratory for political, economic and social experiments that seem to anticipate the dynamics of the contemporary world. The scope and complexity of their findings were such that it was impossible to fit them into a single work, thus leading to the creation of a book of the same name, which will be presented on 26 May as part of Gutun Zuria Zabalik.
At this presentation, the Mexican collective will discuss how the publication was created from readings, annotated notes, documentaries, social media videos, and conversations gathered during their travels. “More than a narrative about the past, the book is a reflection on the future,” they suggest.
The presentation serves as a prelude and contextual framework for the stage performance, which will take place on Thursday, 28 May, at 7:00 p.m. in the Auditorium. More information on page 14.
TUESDAY, 26 MAY
6:30 p.m.
Bastida Hall
€ 3 / AZ Cardholders/ Gutun Zuria Lagunak: free admission prior online registration until full capacity is reached
THURSDAY, 28 MAY
7:00 p.m.
Performance of Centroamérica Auditorium
+Info: p.14
Essential Comic Dialogues
15 APRIL
ROBERT CRUMB Génesis
Génesis is a literal comic adaptation of the first book of the Bible by the acclaimed comic artist Robert Crumb, the father of American underground comics and a major influence on post-underground authors.
6 MAY
MOTO HAGIO ¿Quién es el 11º pasajero?
Moto Hagio (b. 1945) is one of Japan’s greatest comic creators and a leading member of the “Group of 24,” a collective of female authors who revolutionised the sh ōjo (girls’) manga of the 1970s by introducing philosophical, psychological, and science fiction themes. They Were Eleven is one of her most celebrated works and a classic of science fiction manga.
27 MAY
BEA LESMA Cuerpo de Cristo
Bea Lema (A Coruña, 1985) is an illustrator and comic author whose work often explores autobiographical themes such as madness, trauma, family relationships, religion, and popular rituals. Her visual style combines drawing with embroidery as a narrative medium.
17 JUNE
RALF KÖNIG El Condón asesino
The Killer Condom is the first work published in Spain by German artist Ralf König (b. Soest, 1960), and the most popular of his more than thirty published titles. It is a hilarious parody of Hollywood thrillers, which doubles as a subtle critique of late-20th-century sexual repression, delivered with König’s trademark wit and irony.
WEDNESDAY: 15 APRIL, 6 & 27 MAY, 17 JUNE
6:30 p.m. / 60'
Mediateka BBK: TK202
€ 3 / AZ Cardholders: free admission prior online registration until full capacity is reached
Film dialogues. Lights, camera, action!
21 APRIL
WILLIAM FRIEDKIN El exorcista (1973)
Nicknamed Hurricane Billy for his intense and perfectionist style, William Friedkin (1935–2023) was a central figure of the 1970s New Hollywood movement. The Exorcist stands out among his twenty films as a masterpiece of the horror genre.
Based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, who drew inspiration from a real exorcism that took place in Washington in 1949, the film tells the story of a 12-year-old girl’s demonic possession and her mother’s desperate attempt to save her.
19 MAY
FRITZ LANG Scarlet Street (1945)
In dialogue with the Zinemateka film series dedicated to Fritz Lang, this session focuses on Scarlet Street (1945), one of the key works of his US period.
A fundamental figure of German expressionism and Hollywood film noir, Lang creates a sordid portrait of desire, manipulation and destiny in this film through the story of a man trapped in a relationship that leads him towards a tragic ending.
9 JUNE
ROBERT CLOUSE Operación Dragón (1973)
American director and screenwriter Robert Clouse (1928–1997) gained worldwide recognition as the visual architect who brought martial arts into mainstream Hollywood cinema.
In Enter the Dragon (1973), his masterpiece, he directed Bruce Lee in an iconic film that sparked a global kung fu craze. It remains one of the greatest action movies ever made.
TUESDAY: 21 APRIL, 19 MAY, 9 JUNE
6:30 p.m. / 60'
Mediateka BBK: TK101
€ 3 / AZ Cardholders: free admission prior online registration until full capacity is reached
Fritz Lang in America
The Azkuna Zentroa – Alhóndiga Bilbao Zinemateka is revisiting the films of Friedrich Christian Anton Lang, known as Fritz Lang, in a cycle focussing on his American period. The films selected for this programme delve into some of the recurring themes of his filmography, such as the moral fragility of the individual when up against the system.
This is not the first time that the Zinemateka has put together a Fritz Lang cycle, but to reflect on this period is especially pertinent in current times. In our daily context, where extremist discourses are re-emerging and democratic institutions are under increasing pressure, the films of Fritz Lang seem more contemporary than ever. Thea von Harbou’s novel Metropolis (1925), on which the legendary eponymous film directed by Lang in 1927 is based, is also set in 2026. The cycle opens with a screening of Metropolis (1927), the origin of modern science fiction.
FROM 21 APRIL TO 11 JUNE, 2026
Tuesdays and Thursdays
Golem Alhóndiga Cinemas
€5 / €4 with AZ Card
Tuesday, +65 years: €2 (sale only at the box office)
Tickets: Golem Alhóndiga Cinemas box office and at golem.es
INFORMATION
Every projection is in Original Version (OVSS)
Order the cycle hand program in AZ Info, download it on azkunazentroa.eus or request it by sending an email with your details to info@azkunazentroa.eus, and we will get back to you.
Consult and borrow films and books related to this cycle at the Mediateka BBK.
PROGRAMME
Tuesday, April 21, 6:30 p.m.
Metropolis (1927)
D: Fritz Lang l S: Thea von Harbou
C: Brigitte Helm, Gustav Fröhlich, Alfred Abel, Rudolf Klein-Rogge 153’
Tuesday, April 28, 5:00 p.m. Thursday, April 30, 7:00 p.m.
Hangmen Also Die! (1943)
D: Fritz Lang l S: John Wexley, Bertolt Brecht, Fritz Lang
C: Brian Donlevy, Anna Lee, Walter Brennan, Gene Lockhart, Dennis O'Keefe, Alexander Granach, Margaret Wycherly 131’ l OVSTSP (English)
Tuesday, May 5, 5:00 p.m. Thursday, May 7, 7:30 p.m.
Scarlet Street (1945)
D: Fritz Lang l S: Dudley Nichols
C: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, Jess Baker, Margaret Lindsay, Rosalind Ivan 97’ l OVSTSP (English)
Tuesday, May 19, 5:00 p.m. Thursday, May 21, 7:30 p.m.
Rancho Notorious (1952)
D: Fritz Lang
S: Daniel Taradash
C: Marlene Dietrich, Arthur Kennedy, Mel Ferrer, Lloyd Gough, William Frawley, Gloria Henry, Jack Elam, George Reeves 89’ l OVSTSP (English)
Tuesday, May 26, 5:00 p.m. Thursday, May 28, 7:30 p.m.
Clash by Night (1952)
D: Fritz Lang
S: Alfred Hayes
C: Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan, Marilyn Monroe 105’ l OVSTSP (English)
Tuesday, June 2, 5:00 p.m. Thursday, June 4, 7:30 p.m.
While the City Sleeps (1956)
D: Fritz Lang l S: Casey Robinson
C: Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Howard Duff, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price, James Craig 99’ l OVSTSP (English)
Tuesday, June 9, 5:00 p.m. Thursday, June 11, 7:30 p.m.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
D: Fritz Lang l S: Douglas Morrow
C: Jesse Metcalfe, Michael Douglas, Amber Tamblyn, Joel David Moore, Orlando Jones, David Jensen, Lawrence P. Beron 80’ l OVSTSP (English)
ABREVIATURES
C: Cast
D: Director
S: Screenplay
OVSS: Original Version with Subtitles in Spanish
Stardust: A Story of Love and Architecture
Stardust tells the story of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, a visionary and defining partnership of 20th century architecture. Over fifty years, Venturi and Scott Brown shared a life notable for its tenderness, humour, and ceaseless intellectual curiosity. They led a silent revolution in architecture, challenging the rigid dogmas of modernism by advocating complexity, symbolism, and learning from everyday landscapes.
Filmed with exceptional intimacy by their son, Jim Venturi, Stardust is an invitation to look at the world through the eyes of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. The film is in the form of a road movie and takes in some of the key locations in their lives: Rome, Venice, Paris, London, Philadelphia, and Las Vegas, while portraying their ingenious and subversive thought processes, their battles in a profession dominated by men (including the well-known controversy surrounding the Pritzker Prize), and the solidity of an alliance that transformed the notion of collaboration in architecture.
Praised by international critics, Stardust is an entertaining, emotional, and profoundly human portrait.
The presentation features the participation of the director, Jim Venturi, who will lead the subsequent discussion.
WEDNESDAY 29 APRIL
6:30 p.m.
Auditorium
Free admission prior online registration until full capacity is reached
Stardust: A Story of Love and Architecture (2025)
Director: Jim Venturi
Screenplay: Anita Naughton
Documentary
86’ l OTS
The screening of Stardust: A Story of Love and Architecture (2025) at Azkuna ZentroaAlhóndiga Bilbao comes about as a result of the co-operation agreement entered into with the Bilbao Museum of Fine Arts, within the framework of the public programme for the exhibition entitled Denise Scott Brown. Ciudad. Calle. Casa [Denise Scott Brown. City. Street. House], curated by María Pia Fontana and Miguel Mayorga.
Denise Scott Brown, Las Vegas, 1968. Photograph: Courtesy Jim Venturi
FANT
Fantastic Film Festival
Bilbao Fantastic Film Festival – FANT, organised by Bilbao City Council, will be screening horror and science fiction film classics and novelties at Azkuna Zentroa. This year, the festival celebrates its 32nd edition and features an official section where international feature films and short films compete, a space devoted to alternative and independent creations, and screening of works by Basque filmmakers.
Zinemagileen artean
15 Women’s Film Caravan
The Zinemagileen artean (Among Filmmakers) Women’s Film Caravan is an itinerant exhibition of the International Women’s Film Festival from Cairo, Egypt, aimed at creating meeting points between Arabian and other cultures, besides making female Social Film filmmakers visible and generating collaborative networks among filmmakers.
Zinegoak
8-14 MAY
Golem Alhóndiga Cinemas + Info: fantbilbao.eus
26-30 MAY
Golem Alhóndiga Cinemas + Info: kcd-ongd.org
LGTBIQ+ International Film and Performing Arts Festival
Zinegoak is back for its 23rd edition with a programme that includes films, performances, presentations, music and encounters with creators. The Festival also features a professional space for the promotion of new audiovisual projects where creators can interact with one another.
22-29 JUNE
Golem Alhóndiga Cinemas + Info: zinegoak.com
#VISUALARTS
#exposición #tecnología
INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS
ACuTe Casebook –Digital Theatre: A new casebook on digital theatre
ACuTe. Culture Testbeds for Performing Arts and New Technology has published ACuTe Casebook – Digital Theatre, a compilation of the experiences and conclusions provided by the fourteen entities comprising this consortium, among which Azkuna Zentroa is included.
This European project, in progress since 2022, has led to significant advances in testing and research into the application of emerging technologies to the way stories are told and produced on stage, fostering new forms of audience interaction.
The publication, presented in Oulu (Finland), European Capital of Culture 2026, includes several specific practices, ranging from the incorporation of AI as a stage character at Det Norske Teatret, to award-winning digital dystopias at De Toneelmakerij, passing through sustainable energy experiments at Théâtre de Liège, and proposals combining screenings, video game or virtual reality aesthetics in different European contexts.
In this casebook, Azkuna Zentroa provides its experience as a residency venue during the development of ACuTe. More specifically, four of the nine new productions developed within this framework have carried out part of their creative processes in Bilbao, receiving support and individualised guidance.
The Centre highlights the importance of fostering these “post-premiere” residencies, as they provide crucial opportunities for reflection, critical exchange and collaboration, ultimately contributing to the further development and evolution of artistic works. The knowledge acquired during this process, as stated in the document, not only enriches a specific production but also contributes to a much broader cultural landscape, inspiring future generations of artists and audience communities.
The book, edited and published by the European Theatre Convention (ETC), is a good practices casebook designed to help theatre creators, the public and cultural
institutions rethink their technological approach for the future. This publication has been printed and distributed among over 80 members of the performing arts professions network in Europe and can be downloaded at www.europeantheatre.eu
#danza
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME
Workshop – from collages to postcards: visual stories to reimagine memory
Txuspo Poyo. Anónima
Artist Txuspo Poyo gathers all kinds of political and social documented material to redefine symbols and stories located in specific cultural contexts.
Drawing on his project Postcards 2010–2012, this workshop proposes reinterpreting the hard copy of a postcard, currently regarded as obsolete in a digitally dominated world. Apparently unrelated cultural, political and social references will be raised during the process to create new uses for postcards.
ESKOLA
FRIDAY: 17, 24 APRIL, 8, 15 MAY
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Exhibition Hall / Foyer
Aimed at Secondary students
Arranged with schools
Ipuin
txiki
A family activity to encourage reading at an early age likewise a habit of reading outside school.
This quarter the selected readings are: Hau bai istorio basatia, Minimoni!, by Rocio Bonilla; Opari ezberdin bat, by Marta Azkona; and My Friend Book, by Kristen Hall.
Max capacity: 8 minors & 8 adults (min 2 families)
Easy Reading Club
The Easy Reading clubs are organised with various bodies and collectives. These sessions enable people with different reading capacities to enjoy reading the same book in an adapted format as well as sharing stories guided by a coach.
SATURDAYS: APRIL 25, MAY 16 AND 30
12:00 p.m. / 60'
Mediateka BBK. TK101 4-6 years
Free entry with prior registration at the Txikiteka information point on the day of the activity.
ADULT AUDIENCE FAMILY AUDIENCE
APRIL-MAY-JUNE
Tuesdays (basque): 5:00 p.m.
Thursdays (spanish): 11:00 a.m. 60'
Mediateka. TK101 + Info: lecturafacil.net
AZ publications
Azkuna Zentroa publications contain contemporary artistic practice for its outreach and circulation.
Anónima Txuspo Poyo
Exhibition catalogue
Spanish / English / Basque
Pages: 304
23 x 28 cm
€28 (on sale in May)
Un modo de hacer generativo / Egikera sortzaile bat / A Generative Way
Marisa González
Exhibition catalogue
Spanish / English / Basque
Pages: 241
21 x 29,7 cm
€ 35
Narrugorrik
Ixiar Rozas
Book
Basque
Pages: 216
€ 20
Colección: Perspectivas
Feministas en las Producciones
Artísticas y las Teorías del Arte
2012-2013 / 2014-2015 / 20162017 / 2018
Various authors
Book
Spanish / English / Basque
23 x16,4 cm
€ 18 / unit
Tiempo como cuerpo
Olatz de Andrés
Case with notebooks inside
Spanish / English / Basque
30 x 24 cm
€20 (on sale in June)
El ensayo de la exposición (1977-2017)
Various authors
Book
Pages: 436
14,8 x 21 cm
€ 28
Engeki Quest. Sirimiri Dreams en Bilbao
Orangcosong
Adventure book
Spanish / English / Basque / Japanese
Pages: 208
14,8 x 21 cm
€ 15
La ola en la mente
Isabel de Naverán Book
Spanish Pages: 252
13 x 21 cm.
€ 18
Tierra Quemada
Amaia Molinet Book
Spanish / English / Basque
1 folder (3 booklets + 4 fold-out posters)
17 x 24 cm.
€ 18
Behatokia. Observar y transformar la ciudad desde las prácticas artísticas y culturales
Urbanbat Book
Spanish Pages: 208 13 x 21 cm.
€ 18
Metakoadernoak. The creative notebooks of Azkuna ZentroaAlhóndiga Bilbao
Talayero, Ander Pérez Puelles, M. Benito Píriz, Julia Martos, Fermín
Jiménez Landa, Jon Gerediaga, Lorea Burge, Gala Knörr
Spanish / English / Basque
€ 5 / unit
#design #merkatua
This is Basque Design Merkatua
This is Basque Design Merkatua proposes an alternative approach to local design and creation through a space in which not only products are displayed, but also the processes and values underpinning each piece. This exhibition brings together the projects of around 30 creators belonging to the dendAZ community, ranging from fashion, jewellery, and decoration through accessories, toys, books, illustration and stationery.
Beyond their diversity, all these proposals share a common philosophy: understand design as a practice with local roots, committed to quality, craftsmanship and sustainability. It is, ultimately, a different way of producing and consuming, with greater awareness of and more connected to the environment.
The market will turn into a meeting place during these three days, where the public can learn firsthand the personal and professional stories behind each project, including new initiatives exploring artistic innovation and experimentation from a responsible standpoint. Moreover, this experience will be extended through interactive workshops, inviting all those interested to engage actively in the creative processes.
JULY 10 FRIDAY, 11 SATURDAY AND 12 SUNDAY
Friday: 4:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m - 3:00 p.m.
Atrium of Cultures
Free admission
OPEN CALL
If you are interested in taking part in This Is Basque Design Merkatua to showcase your brand, register before 30 june at azkunazentroa.eus or by scanning the QR code
GUIDED TOURS OF THE BUILDING
Take a guided tour of the building to learn about the history of the Alhóndiga and how it was transformed into the Bilbao Society and Contemporary Culture Centre.
TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, AND SATURDAY*
Basque: 5:30 p.m.
Spanish: 6:30 p.m.
* FROM 30 MARCH THROUGH 12 APRIL: EVERY DAY
Basque: 12.00 a.m. / 5:30 p.m.
Spanish: 1.00 p.m. / 6:30 p.m.
Free admission prior online registration until full capacity is reached
GROUPS
· Every day
· Basque or Spanish: €60 per group.
· English or French: €70 per group.
· 25 people maximum per visit.
· Book your visit at: sarrerak.azkunazentroa.eus
ASSOCIATIONS* AND TEACHING CENTERS
· Every day
· Basque or Spanish: €30 per group.
· English or French: €35 per group.
· 25 people maximum per visit.
· Book your visit at: sarrerak.azkunazentroa.eus
* Entities holding a programme of cutural activities.
EXHIBITION TOURS
TXUSPO POYO. Anónima
EVERY THURSDAY: 6:30 p.m. Basque and Spanish
On the first Thursday of every month, visit will be in Basque
€ 3 / AZ Cardholders: free admission prior online registration until full capacity is reached
AZ CARD
With the AZ card you can enjoy a wide range of cultural and social activities at our Centre. By using it, you will receive regular information about all our activities and benefit from interesting discounts and advantages.
HOW TO GET ONE
All you have to do is go to AZ Info, the information point in the Atrium of Cultures, to get your AZ card. We will give it to you on the spot so that you can start using it immediately. It costs 3 Euros, both upon issuance and should it need to be renewed.
ADVANTAGES
With your AZ card you can purchase your tickets for the cultural programme activities at a discount, access the Mediateka BBK, and stay informed about all our latest news/activities with more advantages for you.
BENEFITS OF THE AZ CARD:
Personalised card
· Regular information on the Azkuna Zentroa programme by email 30% discount on cultural programme tickets
· Free registration for introductory visits to the Azkuna Zentroa exhibitions
· Pre-sale priority plus 50% discount for the performing arts season Discount at Golem Alhóndiga multiplex cinema on Thursdays
· Access to the Mediateka BBK services, including book borrowings and reservations of material and computers.
REMEMBER:
The AZ Card is personal and non-transferable
· To enjoy the discounts when purchasing tickets at AZ Info and Golem Alhóndiga Multiplex Cinema, you must always present it.
UNTIL 17 MAY 11:00am8:00pm
THURSDAY APR. 6:30pm
UNTIL 12 APRIL, EVERY DAY: APR.
12:00pm 13:00pm 5:30pm 6:30pm
FROM 13 APRIL, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, SATURDAY APR. 5:30pm 6:30pm
UNTIL 30 SEPTEMBER
APRIL AGENDA
Txuspo Poyo Anónima From Tuesday to Sunday* Exhibition p.6
Guided tours of the building 12:00pm / 5:30pm (Basque) 1:00pm / 6:30pm (Spanish)
Guided tours of the building 5:30pm (Basque), 6:30pm (Spanish) Visit p.42
Carmen B. Mikelarena, Louka Butzbach, Mireille St-Pierre Flowers, trains and she-monsters From Monday to Sunday
1 WEDNESDAY APR. 7:00pm Bilbao Basque Fest: Anjel Duhalde, Niko Etxart
2 THURSDAY APR. 5:30pm Bilbao Basque Fest: Banda de Txistularis de Bilbao + Garazi Navas+ Oinkari Dantza Taldea
p.19 7:00pm Bilbao Basque Fest: Olaia Inziarte
3 FRIDAY APR. 7:00pm Bilbao Basque Fest: Maren
6:30pm Comic dialogues: Robert Crumb. Génesis
p.19
16 THURSDAY
Estefanía de Paz Asín La reina del Arga
21 TUESDAY APR. 6:30pm Film dialogues: William Friedkin. El exorcista (1973) Conversation p.23 6:30pm Film Season: Fritz Lang in America Metropolis (1927)
28 TUESDAY
29 WEDNESDAY
6:30pm Stardust: A Story of Love and Architecture (2025)
30 THURSDAY APR. 7:00pm
Film Season: Fritz Lang in America Hangmen Also Die! (1943) Cinema p.24 * Consult special times online
UNTIL 17 MAY
MAY AGENDA
11:00am8:00pm Txuspo Poyo Anónima From Tuesday to Sunday
Zinegoak. LGTBIQ+ International Film and Performing Arts Festival
Cinema p.27
25 THURSDAY JUN. 7:00pm El Conde de Torrefiel La luz de un lago Dance p.17
27 SATURDAY JUN. 12:30pm Sabor a queer Live podcast p.18
ESKERRIK ASKO!
We appreciate the support of the private and public bodies accompanying us as part of their commitment to the territory, working with our mission to connect society and contemporary culture.
Promotor
Strategic Patron
Associates
Cultural alliances
Our network is open to any organisation interested in taking part in this project which contributes to the creation of a more creative, critical and diverse society through art.
Cultural alliances: Live arts
Technological Partner
City alliances
Programme subsidised by Bizkaia Provincial Council
GENERAL INFORMATION
CENTRE OPENING HOURS
Every day from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Consult special times online
DISCOUNTS AND SPECIAL PRICES
Azkuna Zentroa – Alhóndiga Bilbao fosters accessible cultural diversity for everyone. To this end, and amongst other measures, it offers reduced rates for groups, professionals, students, young adults, people with functional diversity and other collectives, prior proof of identity.
GOLEM ALHÓNDIGA CINEMAS
Consult the updated information at golem.es
YANDIOLA, THE BOAR, HOLA BAR
Consult the updated information on yandiola.com
ACCESSIBILITY
Azkuna Zentroa is a friendly, open and accessible space for everyone.
We work on the continuous improvement of the space and the programme to ensure that all audiences have a rewarding experience, are able to participate in the creative processes, and experience, share and enjoy culture on equal terms. Should you require any specific information, please proceed to Az Info, the information point located in the Atrium.
Azkuna Zentroa has the AENOR certificate of Universal Accessibility according to the UNE 170001-1 Standard
Check the Center's accessibility measures on our website: azkunazentroa.eus
Audio format can be downloaded here: soundcloud.com/azkuna-zentroa
