Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre

Oscar Niemeyer: The origins and the design

Oscar Niemeyer, from Brasilia, Brazil, one of the most influential modernist architects in the world was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Art in 1989. This was the beginning of the relationship between Niemeyer and the Principality of Asturias. Years later, as a present for the 25th anniversary of the Awards, Niemeyer donated a project to the principality. His design has become a project meant to be an international reference in the cultural field. It is dedicated to education, culture and, peace. The centre is the first work by Niemeyer's in Spain, and he has said he believes it is his most important in Europe, which is the reason for its name - Centro Niemeyer.

Structure

The Niemeyer Centre is formed by five main elements that complement each other:

Style and colours

The main feature in Niemeyer's work are the building's curves. The building's colours - mainly white, red, yellow and blue - reflect the influence of Neoplasticism on his work.

Step by step

The first stone was laid on April 2008. The museum building structure was built in about an hour as a result of the use of a pioneering building techniques. This allowed the whole structure to be set up in about and hour. Then the multipurpose building and the Auditorium were constructed. The materials used were mainly concrete and glass. Also during this time the base of the Tower was started, but it was not until the structures of other buildings were almost finished that the work on the Tower was visible. An underground car park was added. The Open Square was covered in white concrete. The sides of the Auditorium were painted yellow, creating a contrast with the dominant white colour on the rest of the buildings. On one of the sides of the auditorium, a ceramic art work, designed by Niemeyer, represents the outline of a woman resting. The stage door was painted red. This door can be open to the square, so that shows can take part inside or outside the building.

The inauguration ceremony took place in March 2011 with a video speech by Niemeyer and a jazz concert with Woody Allen in front of an audience of more than 10,000 people.

'Niemeyer effect': impact in the post-industrial town

Apart from its cultural purposes, the Centre has an important environmental element. It is the center of a large scale urban regeneration process that will change the town's whole waterfront. It is located on an island created in the Avilés estuary, not far from the industrial area. This has helped in the regeneration process of the area.

The authorities are now planning many changes there, such as eliminating heavy traffic from the port area (where the center is located) and creating sporting and recreation areas. Also new building projects are being planned - a reflection of the Niemeyer Centre effect. This area is now called La Isla de la Innovación (The Island of the Innovation).

It is being developed by the Government of the Principality of Asturias and the Government of Spain. It will provide for the economic and urban regeneration of a degraded area as part of a process of industrial transformation: the Avilés estuary, situated in Asturias, northern Spain.

Niemeyer Effect

Thanks to the architecture and the cultural project, a number of artists became interested in the Centre. Brad Pitt, a follower of Oscar Niemeyer’s work visited the town to see the works and increased the publicity of the Asturian cultural complex. Other Hollywood stars such as Kevin Spacey, visited the town several times in collaboration with the center (premieres, conferences, and theatre plays). The collaboration between different world personalities (artists, Nobel Prize winners, United Nations meetings, etc.) made Centro Niemeyer the "Spanish cultural institution with more presence in national and international media" in 2011.

A year later, the area around the Centre prepared for the arrival of the first commercial cruise in Avilés' history. An Oriental Garden next to the estuary receives the arriving visitors. There are plans to create a bigger recreation port to increase tourism.

The Centre has also inspired several sweets, such as: Niemeyitas, Cúpulas de Avimeyer (Avimeyer domes), etc. The short film Keres by Alfonso S. Suarez was recorded at the Centre. Several car companies have also used the buildings to promote their latest cars. Also a fashion magazine used it as background for a photographic session in 2011.

Meeting point for knowledge

Oscar Niemeyer's vision is based on three pillars: education, culture and peace. The Centre tries to be a magnet for the three elements. The Centre also tries to combine international and national events.

G8 of culture

In December 2007, the Foundation organized the First Worldwide Forum of International Cultural Centres in Avilés, Asturias (also known as the G8 of Culture) with eight international cultural centers: Lincoln Center of New York (USA), Barbican Centre of London(UK), Sydney Opera House, Centre Georges Pompidou of Paris (France), Library of Alexandria, Tokyo International Forum(Japan) and Hong Kong Cultural Center (China) and the Cultural Centre Óscar Niemeyer of Asturias (Spain).

Production

The exhibition Luz by Carlos Saura was a production by Centro Niemeyer. The center co-produced Utopía by María Pagés, and, in association with other institutions, co-commissioned and produced Richard III by Sam Mendes with Kevin Spacey in the main role. This play was part of the Bridge Project between the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Old Vic Theatre in London, and the British producer Neal Street. Asturias was one of the few places in the world where it was presented, adding Aviles to a list of names such as London, Naples, Istanbul, Athens, San Francisco, and New York.

Education

The Centre has organised different educational activities such as those in collaboration with the Kevin Spacey Foundation, or María Pagés. Students of different ages had the opportunity to use the meeting place for learning and activities such as performing in Broadway play. It was also one of the stops of the Ruta Quetzal in 2011

Film Centre

One of the permanent activities of the Niemeyer Centre will be the Film Centre. Woody Allen proposed the idea to the Principality of Asturias' Government following several visits to Asturias. He has publicly supported the Avilés' Centre, visiting the town and including bits of it in his first film shot in Spain (Vicky Cristina Barcelona'' 2008). In October 2008, the European Film Academy (EFA) announced that it will collaborate with the Niemeyer Centre's Film for a permanent cinema in the Multipurpose Building. Seat number seven in the fifth row bears Woody Allen's name. He inaugurated the cinema in 2011. There is a second seat dedicated to Volker Schlöndorff. The Film Centre works on films on themes, such as the United Nations, etc., but also shows premieres, and short-films.

Gastronomy

There are three different areas dedicated to gastronomy: the bar, the tower restaurant and the cocteleria. The Gastro restaurant provides a space where 14 guests sit around a common table and are involved in the cooking process. Famous cooks share their experience and menus there.

Exhibitions

The main exhibition gallery is The Dome. There is a second, smaller gallery in the foyer of the Auditorium and sometimes in the two rooms of the Multipurpose Building.

Other arts

There are many different additional artistic events included in the activity of the Centre including music, theatre, and ballet.

Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre Foundation

The Fundación Centro Cultural Internacional Oscar Niemeyer Principado de Asturias was created in 2007 to manage the Niemeyer Centre's buildings and cultural projects. The Foundation develops international projects and works to set up a collaborative network. The work of the Foundation is based on three aims: education, culture and peace. It is hoped the centre will be a magnet for talent, knowledge and creativity, as well as promoting local content. It has a strong focus on collaboration with international cultural centres.

Oscar Niemeyer is an honorary member of the Foundation.

The activity of the Foundation started before work on the buildings. It organized the first G8 of Culture Conference with Paulo Coelho, Alejandro Amenábar, Omar Shariff, the representation of The Tempest, etc. Damien Pwono (ASPEN Institute) said during a visit to the town, "The most important thing in culture is add the efforts of different people, and that is what Centro Niemeyer is doing, also taking an eclectic point of view. Other centers show how beautiful they are, but the Niemeyer, even without building, is real."

Until the spring of 2012 the general director of the centre was Natalio Grueso.

International Advisory Board

There is also an International Advisory Board of the International Cultural Centre Óscar Niemeyer. Some of its members are Stephen Hawking, Vinton Cerf, Woody Allen, Paulo Coelho, and Jose Andres.

The Centre also collaborated with the London School of Economics, the Instituto Cervantes, the Old Vic theatre of London (directed by Kevin Spacey) María Cristina Masaveu Foundation, Ministry of Culture (Spain) and with exhibitions exchanged with CaixaForum (La Caixa).

On 17 October 2008, Nigerian writer, poet and playwright Wole Soyinka, who won a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, collaborated with the Niemeyer Centre. He visited Asturias in 2012 and collaborated with a conference and an exhibition.

Activities

Right after its creation, the Foundation's activity bega. As a result, even before the actual buildings were finished, a lot of activities organized by the Centre took place in Avilés. Some of the activities included premieres such as Cassandra's Dream'' by Woody Allen, the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho in the Palacio Valdés Theatre an event also transmitted over the Internet, the visits of Fatema Mernissi in June 2008, Wole Soyinka, Vinton Cerf, Omar Sharif, the concerts of Barbara Hendricks, Joan Manuel Serrat, etc. Also the first stages of collaboration with the Old Vic Theatre of London took place at that time.

Impact of the inaugural programme

During the spring of 2011 the announcement of the inaugural programme created a lot of expectation. 10,000 people attended a performance by Woody Allen and The New Orleans Jazz Band. The first exhibitions were associated with personalities such as Jessica Lange and Julian Schnabel, etc. The activities programme is on the Centre's agenda, including exhibitions, concerts, etc. These activities have brought the Centro Niemeyer of Asturias national and international media coverage.

Awards

The architectural project received the following awards:

It also received an award for its cultural contribution:

Citizens movement: I Support Centro Niemeyer

After the regional elections in 2011 there were political differences that affected the center. At this stage, a citizens' movement known as YO APOYO AL CENTRO CULTURAL INTERNACIONAL OSCAR NIEMEYER (I support Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre) began. This movement was open to anyone who supported what the Centro Niemeyer had represented both culturally and economically for the town and the region, leaving aside political ideologies. As any citizens' movement, it had to prove its political independence.

The budget for the centre was not renewed and the Foundation was unable to continue managing the center. On 15 December 2011, the center was closed and all its employees were laid off. A month later it reopened, for a few months, under a different name and project. Through demonstrations, online signature campaigns, articles in the press, manifestos, and cultural events (some of which appeared on national an international media),) the movement tried to support and restart the original project. Members of the movement met with different political parties, trade unions and businesses. During this period, different personalities from popular culture and journalism supported the Centro Niemeyer through social networks, signing manifestos, etc.

Eventually, a few months later, after early elections in 2012, the Foundation was allowed back to manage the Centre and the project recovered its original name. The plaque was up on the center on 21 June 2012.

During the homage to Oscar Niemeyer on 15 December 2012, (what would have been his 105 birthday), the citizens movement released "Sentimiento Niemeyer". The verses were written by different people through a Facebook event and put together by musicians. The song was released under a Creative Commons license (attribution, non-profit, no-variations) so that other artists who shared the feeling around the world could produce their own cover of the song, keeping the melody and translating the lyrics.