Toni Álvarez de Arana

At MAP, we feel deeply honoured to begin our journey by presenting an exhibition like this one. For several reasons.

The first is the trust placed in us by Guy Ferrer when he agreed to share an important part of his personal collection with the public. It is a body of work built over the course of years, with the sole intention of shedding light on what is happening in the continent where he was born, and of giving back what he received when he left his native Algeria.

The second reason is the opportunity to jointly showcase a carefully curated selection of African artists in Palafrugell. Not only because of their artistic importance, but also because of what this exhibition offers to part of our local population—those of African origin—who will find in this space a place to see themselves reflected, represented and heard.

All of this is possible thanks to powerful, direct works of art that do not hesitate to press on the wound, while proudly revealing an art born from scarcity, from the need to speak out, and from the hope for a fairer world for everyone. An art that is lived, real, and needs no literary justification to move us. An art that, sadly, feels increasingly distant from our Western world.

The third reason is the opportunity that an exhibition like this gives us to highlight the value of collecting. Becoming a guardian of the artists you believe in, supporting their work, buying their pieces—this is the most genuine way to stand by them.

It happens in Africa, but also in the Empordà. We understand the collector as a key part of a chain that begins with the artist. That is why we also want to include their presence in our art show—to welcome their perspective and to embrace collecting as an artistic practice in itself.

A person who dedicates their time and energy to art—without whom we risk leaving artists dependent on institutions and commissions, thus undermining the creative freedom that is essential to every act of creation.