Introduction by Florence Woolley. The first event of a 2 part series curated by Alexandria Knapik.

To Plant a Flying Garden (2021), 17 min

The starting point of this video is the first bouquet of flowers that my father collected during the COVID lockdown, when one of the only reasons to leave the house was to water vegetable gardens. This bouquet became proof that nature was growing out there, beyond the limits of my house. A detail that triggered a connection between the intimate space of a house and the big scale of outer space exploration. 

This project was developed during a one-month art residency in Roeselare (Belgium), as part of the European project of cultural cooperation Sounds of Our Cities.

A Planet Painted by Hand (work-in-progress), 18 min

A Planet Painted by Hand is an experimental documentary that pits the intimacy of quotidian routines against the strange landscape of another world. Set in the desert of the American Southwest, the film follows a group of scientists at the Mars Desert Research Station, giving viewers a glimpse into a simulated outer space, while reflecting on the expanse of human imagination.

Martí Madaula Esquirol (Sabadell, 1996) holds a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona, a Master of Visual Arts from the LUCA School of Arts of Ghent (Belgium) and a Master of Fine Arts in Film, Video, New Media, and Animation from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2019 he received the Extraordinary Prize of Fine Arts (University of Barcelona) and in 2021 he was awarded a prestigious “la Caixa” Foundation fellowship to pursue his studies in the United States.

His first film, “The Living Wardrobe,” had its World Premiere at the Opening Scenes section at Visions du Réel 2024, one of the most important documentary and nonfiction film festivals in the world. He published his first book, “Com Conquerir l’Espai” (“How to Conquer Space”), thanks to the Art Jove 2020 Creation Grant and the support of the Centre d’Art La Panera.

He has shown his work in solo exhibitions such as “Tough, Reliable and Almost Cuddly” (SITE 280 Gallery in Chicago, 2023), “To Recover the Bedsheets from Manchester” (Museum of Sabadell, 2021), “Stronger than Air, Thinner than Ice” (Astronomical Observatory of UGent, 2019), among others. He has also taken part in group shows such as “Apertus 01” (àngels Barcelona, 2016), “La Tèrmica LAB” (Roca Umbert Fàbrica de les Arts, 2017), “Tots els llocs parlen de tu” (Sala d’Art Jove, 2018), and “Per Capítols. EN RESiDÈNCiA a La Capella” (La Capella de Barcelona, 2022), among others.

This program is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Terra Foundation for American Art, and is part of Art Design Chicago, a citywide collaboration initiated by the Terra Foundation that highlights the city’s artistic heritage and creative communities.