Málaga, June 18, 2024.- CM Málaga, Culture and Museums International Tech Forum, closed its fourth edition at FYCMA (Trade Fairs and Congress Center of Málaga) today, highlighting entrepreneurship, talent, and creativity in the cultural sector. This fourth edition gathered 1,200 professionals from various industry areas, including artists, museum and cultural institution managers, technology companies, startups, public administrations, sectoral foundations, and academia, among others. Participants and entities praised the extensive and high-quality content of the event, which fostered an ideal workspace for exchanging ideas and developing new initiatives.

The highlight of the final day was the presentation of awards for the five competitions held within CM Málaga, aimed at promoting innovation and sustainability in the cultural sector. The event featured the Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, the Regional Delegate for Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Andalusian Government, Gemma del Corral, and the Deputy Councillor for Culture and Historical Heritage of the Málaga City Council, Mariana Pineda.

The winner of the ‘III Open Call for Start-ups CM Málaga’ was the technology startup Artgonuts, which received a cash prize of €500 and visibility at the event before sector professionals and influencers. Their project is an application for exploring cities and their cultural heritage using artificial intelligence and augmented reality, allowing users to save locations, events, and experiences. Virtual Visits and Yellow Jacket Videogames Studio were the runners-up, with a total of 12 startups participating.

Artgonuts also won the I AEDAS Homes Award of the City of Málaga: International Augmented Art Competition ‘ARTub: Make it Visible’, presented for the first time at CM Málaga to integrate traditional art values with the new era of digitalisation, focusing on the innovative social concept of the ZETA district. The second prize went to artist Lucas González de Miguel.

CM Málaga also launched the first edition of the ‘Award for Innovative and Sustainable Design for Museum and Cultural Institution Shops’, highlighting the role of designers, illustrators, and artisans who create products and services for museum and cultural institution shops. Among the 11 projects submitted, three were selected as finalists and subjected to a public vote. The winning project, A_Tempo, received a €500 cash prize, while Hilo Doble and the book-game El Ladrón de las Alas were runners-up. All three initiatives showcased their ideas at CM Málaga.

Closing the chapter on new competitions, the Ideathon ‘Culture in Code: Transforming Culture through Technology’ took place over the day and a half of the event. This competition, promoted by the Department of Culture and Historical Heritage of the Málaga City Council with the collaboration of 42 Málaga Fundación Telefónica, aimed to drive digital transformation and create new business opportunities for Málaga’s cultural agents by proposing and solving technological challenges related to digitalisation in the cultural sector. Participants worked on their proposals during CM Málaga, with Visit.AI winning first prize, and Inclusign and Dando Vida al Arte securing second and third places, respectively.

EXPONE Awards

Lastly, the ‘EXPONE Awards’ organised by the Association of Museologists and Museographers of Andalusia (AMMA) were presented to promote best practices and innovation in museums and exhibitions. Víctor Pérez Escolano, architect and Emeritus Professor of the School of Architecture of the University of Seville, received the lifetime achievement award.

In the public’s special award category, the project ‘Cuerpo en conflicto, cuerpo sanado’, a workshop by the San Telmo School of Art and La Térmica (Málaga) within the exhibition ‘Victus et Amictus’ by Ela Fidalgo at La Térmica, was honoured. The first runner-up was ‘Memorias del cine: La Chanca – Pescadería’, an exhibition by La Oficina Producciones Culturales with support from the Almería Provincial Council and City Council and Innovative Urban Actions. The second runner-up was ‘The Sevillaner’, an artistic project by Lab Sevilla.

The exhibition ‘Antes de América’ by the Juan March Foundation won the award for best national exhibition project, with the first runner-up being ‘Dinastías. Los Primeros Reinos de la Europa Prehistórica’ from the Alicante Archaeological Museum, and the second runner-up ‘Convivium. Archaeology of the Mediterranean Diet’ from the National Archaeological Museum.

The award for best Andalusian exhibition project went to ‘Ídolos. Miradas milenarias desde el extremo suroccidental de Europa’ from the Huelva Museum. Again, ‘Memorias del cine: La Chanca-Pescadería’ received the first runner-up prize, while ‘Tomar posición, tomar posesión’ from the Málaga Municipal Heritage Museum secured the second runner-up position.

In the Andalusian conservation award category, the prize went to the restoration project of the Royal Artillery Factory of Seville by Gares Restauraciones. The rehabilitation of the façade of the Casa de Iberoamérica in Cádiz by the Cádiz Municipal Society 2012 won the first runner-up prize.

The Andalusian cultural mediation award went to ‘Genalguacil, Pueblo Museo’ from the Genalguacil City Council (Málaga). The first and second runner-up prizes were awarded to ‘Arroyomolinos de León en Blanco y Negro. Un viaje por la historia reciente de la localidad’ by the AlmaNatura Foundation and ‘Arte para compartir un universo’ by the Azul Violeta Association in collaboration with the municipalities of Casabermeja, Totalán, Sayalonga, and El Borge in Málaga, respectively.

CM Málaga was organised by FYCMA (Trade Fairs and Congress Center of Málaga) from the Málaga City Council, alongside the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Andalusian Government, with support from Diario Sur. The Innovation, Digitalisation and Investment Attraction, and Culture and Historical Heritage Departments of the Málaga City Council also collaborated. Acción Cultural Española and Andalucía TRADE – Agency for Economic Transformation and Development of the Andalusian Government participated as institutional partners. Gnoss was the technology partner, and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports of the Government of Castilla y León through AR&PA, EulenArt, Fundación Unicaja, and Reale Seguros were Golden partners. The International ICOM Spain-ICOM Europe Seminar was co-financed by the Feder Andalucía 2021-2027 Programme and the Andalusian Government.

Collaborating entities included Apuntes de Arte, the Spanish Association of Museologists (AEM), the Association of Museographers and Museologists of Andalusia (AMMA), the Chamber of Commerce of Peru in Spain (CCPE), the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, the Official College of Telecommunication Engineers of Eastern Andalusia and Melilla, le Club Innovation & Culture CLIC, Encuentra Arte Málaga, the Spanish Federation of Friends of Museums, Fundación Contemporánea, Fundación Rafael Pérez Estrada, the Institute of Contemporary Art, ICOM Spain, the Institut Cerdà, Málaga TechPark, Museum Connections Paris, the Multimedia and Digital Content Technologies Platform, the Network of Museums and Digital Strategies, the University of Málaga (UMA), YGBART Advising and Management and 42 Málaga.

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