The Association of Friends of LABoral is formed
The body will be chaired by expert lawyer in maritime law Luis Figaredo, accompanied by Rafael Puyol and Cuca Alonso as vice presidents, and Montserrat Martínez as secretary
A moment of the constitutive session of the Association of Friends of LABoral. Photo: LABoral/P. Andrés
A diverse group of professionals and members of Asturian civil society have formed the Association of Friends of LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, a non-profit organisation with its own legal personality which aims to promote, stimulate and support any cultural initiatives related to the mission and activity of the Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial in Gijón.
United by a common desire to actively collaborate in the development and consolidation of the centre at a time of economic crisis in which support and public financing in art and culture have been reduced, the members of the Association of Friends of LABoral consider that they must play an active part in the social enrichment that culture brings along, as is the case in all the major European and American capitals, where civil society actively contributes towards the flourishing of its museums and cultural institutions.
For this purpose their activities will be focused on attracting new visitors, gaining resources and collaborations which consolidate the current lines of work at the Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, promoting support to win new members and companies which consolidate and give future continuity to the LABoral project. To achieve this, it will also promote activities in the areas of exhibition, production, research, sponsorship, conferences, congresses, publications, dissemination, printing, publishing, workshops, cultural visits, guided visits, and any other activity which involves a more active and direct participation in the life of the art centre.
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Association of Friends of LABoral will be chaired by Luis Figaredo, expert lawyer in maritime law, who will be accompanied by the senior lecturer and former rector of the Complutense University of Madrid, vice president of Institutional Relations of the IE Business School, vice president of the Fundación Instituto de Empresa [the IE Foundation] and president of the board of trustees of the IE University of Segovia, Rafael Puyol Antolín, acting as first vice president; writer and journalist Cuca Alonso, as second vice president; and the notary Montserrat Martínez López, as secretary.
The Board of Directors will be completed with the following members:
• Luis Adaro, President of Adaro Tecnologías
• Marta Aguilera, General Mannager of Restaurante Las Delicias.
• Álvaro Armada y Barcáiztegui, Count of Güemes, is member of the Board of Directors of the Mapfre Praico Corp. Expert in development of cultural and touristic projects, he has developed his professional life in multinational advertising and communication agencies in the United States, Canada and Caribbean.
• Carlos Caicoya, professor and expert museologist in the analysis of models for cultural management.
• Fernando de la Hoz, with an extended career in the banking sector, is a business consultant and advisor for companies belonging to the renewable energies sector and an active agent in various foundations and associations’ boards of trustees.
• Álvaro Díaz Huici, Director of Ediciones TREA.
• Paz Fernández Felgueroso, former mayor of Gijón and President of the Consejo de Comunidades Asturianas [Asurian Communities Council].
• José Miguel Fernández, economist, president of the Alumni Association of the Jovellanos Institute.
• Jorge Fernández León, Cultural Manager and former Vice President of the Board of LABoral.
• Javier Fernández Vallina, Doctor in Semitic Linguistics and Professor at the Department of Linguistics of the UCM.
• Javier García Fernández, General Mannager of EUROLAB.
• Lucía García Rodríguez, Managing Director of LABoral.
• Pilar González Lafita, Ex Director of FMCEyUP and of the city council of Gijón. Currently program director of the Department of Museums and Exhibitions of the FMC.
• Ignacio Gracia Noriega, Writer and journalist.
• Mariano López Santiago, former secretary general of Gijón City Council and president of the Special Employment Centre INTGRAF and theatre critic for La Nueva España.
• Jovino Martínez Sierra, Architect.
• Íñigo Noriega, Director of El Comercio.
• Germán Ojeda, senior lecturer of History and Economic Institutions at the University of Oviedo.
• José Pereira, Professor of Tax Law. University of Oviedo.
• Abel Rionda Rodríguez y David Martínez Álvarez, Directors of ADN Mobile Solutions.
• Pedro Sabando, doctor and former Minister of Health for the Community of Madrid.
• Ángel Luis Torres Serrano, Notary.
• Javier Targhetta, Mining engineer, CEO of Atlantic Copper SaU in Spain and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales of the Group Freeport-McMoRan Copper Gold.
SUPPORT FOR THE MANAGEMENT TEAM
The Association of Friends of LABoral will be actively supporting the management team in the following areas:
- supporting collaborations with companies and institutions with the aim of producing projects in artistic and industrial creation fields,
- supporting the accession of new members, helping with the dissemination of the centre’s contents to bring it closer to an increasingly wider public,
- providing contacts to gain new sponsorships,
- offering and sharing its knowledge and experience,
- suggesting thematic areas, contents and/or projects which could be of interest for the centre,
- encouraging the organisation of events aimed at raising funds for the centre, fostering links with business networks in general and more specifically with those in Asturias,
- encouraging the creation of networks among the different cultural initiatives in Asturias, seeking a closer integration and coherence on the local scene,
- setting up an events programme specific for the members: artists talks/conferences, exhibition premieres, private visits to studio artists, private visits to collections, trips to festivals, biennials and fairs, private visits to other museums or centres, etc.
- acting as a cultural pole of attraction for Asturias through promotion and dissemination activities led by intellectuals and renowned and prestigious figures.
