Art and all that fizz

Hence, the title of the seventh edition of the city-wide summer festival they have been promoting for the past couple of weeks and which lasts until 27 June: “Estival efervescente”.

The Mediterranean blue poster advertising the event surfs on this fizzy concept. Featuring an Alka-Seltzer-like tablet with the word “ARTE” embossed on it, it is full of pep.

LCA is a multi-pronged artistic hub, recently awarded a medal by the Ateneo de Malaga, a venerable cultural association founded half a century ago, which prides itself in being on the cusp of current developments in a variety of fields ranging from the visual arts to literature, history and archaeology.

What to expect at a Casa Amarilla opening? A swig of San Miguel beer straight from the bottle rather than bubbly and nibbles. The most recent took place on 7 June, at the second of this hip and happening hive of creativity’s locales: the first established in Calle Santos, opposite the Casa Aranda churros bar, since 2017; the ‘newbie’ inaugurated last January (at Calle Carretería, 23 bis).

Dubbed “This is not a sex shop”, this two-person small format manifesto announced as “Misskafeina Vs. Heroin Cult” launched the Estival fest, with a ‘double bang’. Not exactly a battle of wits, more like a friendly match between complementary like-minded exhibitors of the opposite sex, it pushes the limits of porn-infused tattoo- and comic book-influenced pop culture, in order to point a derogatory finger at outdated sexist stereotypes.

Hot on the heels of this mini extravaganza, followed by ‘state-of-the-art-world’ debates at the Russian Museum and Museo Thyssen, came an installation by Andalusian sound-smiths Durovino (to be experienced at the Pompidou Centre aka “El Cubo”, from 19 to 24 June) – and (top of the bill…): a duo of group shows with an effervescent twist.

Until 28 June, a new wave of post-face mask YMAs (Young Malaga Artists) presents “Efervescencia Pura. La generación pandemia” at LCAmálaga’s original Calle Santos, 7 “casa”.

Over the past few game-changing lockdown-imbued years, the Casa Amarilla has not only blossomed into a haven for budding mainstreamers lacking the seal of approval of institutions like the CAC (Centro de Arte Contemporáneo) - feted as ‘The Place to show and be seen’ - but also added a string to its bow, providing studio space for a roster of almost-famous artists in residence, many of them into urban art.

Till 26 July, the Ateneo (Calle Compañía, 2 – within steps of the Thyssen Museum) treats us to “No soy emergente, soy efervescente” (I’m not emergent, I’m effervescent), a popsicle-fresh confrontation between 14 members of the 1980s collective Palmo and 14 LCA trailblazers.

In my native “Ab Fab” London, the Prosecco-fuelled art season is in full swing - and I must confess that the mere sight of an Alka-Selzer tablet dissolving in the Big Blue brings back memories of arty parties - a tad ‘over-effervescent’, yet “such a gas”…!