About Casa Planas
Introduction
Spread across 2400m2, Casa Planas encompasses 17 artist studios, an events hall, exhibition spaces, coworking facilities, and Europe's largest photographic archive devoted to mass tourism.
The Casa Planas Centre for Research and Contemporary Culture serves as a dynamic platform for experimentation, research, and creativity. It aims to revive the former Casa Planas photographic processing factory, reclaiming the industrial heritage of Palma as a focal point for contemporary image creation.
This project emerged from a desire to establish creative spaces within the city, promoting the concept of art as a catalyst for social innovation, environmental awareness, and heritage preservation.
Planas Archive
What makes the centre so unique is the fact that it possesses the most important photographic archive in the history of mass tourism. The collection is made up of more than 3 million images from the counterpart company 'Casa Planas' spanning between the period from the 1940’s right up to the 1990’s. Within the extensive collection, there are a variety of notable features such as social reports, domestic depictions, celebrity photographs, tourist advertising for hotels in the Balearic Islands, aerial photography, and postcards.The Planas Archive also holds a substantial collection of materials which document techniques in photography and cinema from the early 20th century, along with other collections related to landscape, tourism, and photography.
A key strategic focus of the centre is to support the creative community. In 2017, Casa Planas initiated the "Uncovering Archive" programme, offering artistic research residencies within the Planas Archive as a space for collective experimentation and knowledge rooted in contemporary thought. This scholarship programme is dedicated to the analysis and interpretation of the history of tourism and contemporary imagery.
MANAGEMENT OF IMAGE
ARCHIVE RIGHTS
Consequently, anyone seeking any of the aforementioned rights must obtain the corresponding authorisation beforehand. Failure to do so will result in a violation of the Intellectual Property Law and may be subject to legal action.
Mission
Objectives
- Build a diverse and international community that enriches conversations around art, creativity, and critical thinking.
- Organise talks, workshops, exhibitions, labs, and gatherings for professionals in culture and knowledge.
- Manage a scholarship programme for artistic research linked to the Planas Archive.
- Promote creation and study related to tourism and contemporary thought.
- Publicise the Casa Planas project as a social and collective sculpture.
Team
Marina Planas
DIRECTOR OF CASA PLANAS, RESEARCHER,
AND VISUAL ARTIST.
Marina Planas is the director of Casa Planas Centre for Contemporary Creation and Research. She initiated the Uncovering Archive project, which focuses on contemporary photography and artistic creation, through residencies at the centre. Her photographic and conceptual projects extend beyond conventional visual arts creations, interpreting the role of the creator not only as an artist but also as a curator, collector, and provocateur of contexts.
Since 2015, she has been overseeing one of the world's largest photographic archives dedicated to tourism and developing her artistic practice. The Casa Planas archive, containing over 3,000,000 images, is situated in Mallorca. The Balearic Islands are a pivotal location in the development of the tourism industry, due to the fact that its model has been replicated internationally (Caribbean, Asia). Marina’s work focuses on the generation of fiction and desire through the utopian lens of tourism while at the same time offering a contemporary interpretation of images addressing the crisis caused by the exploitation of “touristified” territories.
Aleli Mirelman
PROJECT DIRECTOR.
She is the project director at the centre, involved in the co-management of cultural projects, the genealogy of transversal art, the third wave of feminism, environmental sustainability, research, archive theories, and critical thinking.
Begoña Márquez
RESIDENCY COORDINATOR
Begoña holds a degree in Anglo-Germanic Philology from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. She has lived and worked in the United States and China. Accustomed to navigating international environments and adept in administrative and team management, she enjoys the multicultural and multidisciplinary atmosphere of Casa Planas.
Adriana Sluter
ARTISTIC COORDINATION
Adriana is an art historian with a master's degree in cultural management and teacher training. Her passions lie in project-based work methodologies in the artistic field and the integration of contemporary artistic practices into pedagogical strategies. Begoña believes that Casa Planas is an ideal place for the development of critical thinking, creativity, and innovation.
Andrea Camp
PRODUCTION AND COMMUNICATION
Andrea holds a Master's degree in Artistic and Cultural Management from PSB and IESA Paris, qualifications in Advertising, Public Relations, and Marketing from Blanquerna, Barcelona. She successfully completed the exchange programme Cultural Action at UQAM Montreal. She enjoys working in empowering artistic environments which promote diverse and discerning visions of our societies. Andrea joined the Casa Planas team in June 2023 through the Employ Culture programme instigated by the Banco Santander Foundation.
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