Online Art Courses: Films and Museums

Courses and workshops

Online

General Public

Museum Members

In this online course, we will explore the relationship between films and museums, revisiting some of the most remarkable moments of the dialogue between them.
Conducted by: Juan Zapater, cultural agent and author writing about art and film
Target audience: Adults 
Type of course: Online 
Structure: 4 modules, 16 video lessons, additional resources 
Workload: 6 hours (at your own pace) 
Language: Spanish 
Certification: Upon completion of the course, participants will get a certificate
What will you learn in this course?
<ul>
<li>The ways in which the language of film interacts with museums in a rich and complex dialogue.</li>
<li>Examples of films and filmmakers focusing on this relationship.</li>
<li>Simple tools to analyze films from various perspectives using different methods.</li>
<li>The work of women filmmakers and the role they have played in the history of film.</li>
</ul>
Introduction
The earliest motion pictures date back to 1895. They were screened in fairs by precursors like George Méliès and the Lumière Brothers. Confined within the realm of popular culture, cinema rose to the form of art in the first decades of the twentieth century thanks to pioneering filmmakers such as D. W. Griffith. However, it would take a few more decades for films to make their way into museums. This would only happen after the emergence of digital media, in the later decades of the twentieth century. Before, their humble origins kept films within the sphere of low culture, unable to cross the line that separated entertainment from art.
Even though the avant-garde and surrealism explored the expressive possibilities of cinema in their creative experiences, and despite the existence of experimental film, the dominance of Hollywood and the American film industry kept films away from museums of contemporary and modern art for decades. Ironically enough, it was only when it went from celluloid to digital that cinema found its way to museum galleries and exhibitions.
Contents and Method
The course is divided into four modules, each module revolving round a key film.
Module I: Russian Ark, by Alexander Sokurov (Russia-Germany, 2002)
Module II: Une visite au Louvre, by Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub (France, 2003).
Module III: Vertigo, by Alfred Hitchcock (United States, 1958).
Module IV: The Square, by Ruben Östlund (Sweden, 2017).
Each module will consist of a discussion of the corresponding film in context, followed by an analysis of the connections between the film and the museum featured in it.
In the video lessons, other examples will be provided of film/museum matches, which will offer a wider view of the changes in narratives, uses, and creations in the history of film.
Each module will use a different combination of methods and media, including films, images, and texts.
Participants are encouraged to watch the films on their own before the course starts, if they have never watched them before.

In this online course, we will explore the relationship between films and museums, revisiting some of the most remarkable moments of the dialogue between them.

Online Art Courses: Films and Museums | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

360º Immersion – Virtual Tours Online: Arts of the Earth

Members

In this virtual tour, our Associate Director of Digital Education, Marta Arzak, will focus on today’s soil concerns and show how 26 tree species present in Arts of the Earth will be replanted in the Basque Country when the exhibition goes down.
Sign up and get the link to join us on the day of the tour from any device. No need to come to the Museum!
Time: 5:00 pm
Members Only

In this virtual tour, our Associate Director of Digital Education, Marta Arzak, will focus on today’s soil

360º Immersion – Virtual Tours Online: Arts of the Earth | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

From Invisibility to the Spotlight: Women Artists from the 20th and 21st Centuries You Need to Know

Other activities

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is now offering accessible online art courses where you can learn about key concepts and ideas in the history of modern and contemporary art from an up-to-date perspective.
Taught by renowned experts in a variety of fields and drawing on the Museum Collection and its dynamic, variegated art program, art courses are designed to offer an overview of each subject while kindling interest and the desire for further knowledge.
Workload: 6 hours (at your own pace) 
Target audience: People over 18 who are interested in contemporary art 
Language: Spanish 
Structure: 4 modules, 16 video lessons, additional resources 
Certification: Upon completion of the course, you will get a certificate 
Duration of the Course: Three months from date of purchase
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN IN THIS COURSE?
With a few rare exceptions, women artists remained in the shadows for many centuries, until impressionist artists drew attention to their creative work in the late 19th century.
The first online course to be offered by the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, taught by Lourdes Cirlot, Professor Emeritus of History of Art at the University of Barcelona, will deal with the role played by women artists in the 20th and 21st centuries. Among others, the course’s learning goals are:
<ul>
<li>To understand the virtually invisible role played by women in the history of art by focusing on individual female modern and contemporary artists.</li>
<li>To discuss the real contributions made by women, placing them in the history of 20th- and 21st-century art.</li>
<li>To analyze the important role played by women artists in disciplines like weaving, performance, and, more recently, video-creation.</li>
</ul>
Introduction, Structure and Course Syllabus <a href="http://cms.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/uploads/2022/01/Intro-EN.pdf">[+info]</a>
Taught by 
Lourdes Cirlot, Emeritus Professor of Art History at Universitat de Barcelona

Online Art Course. From Invisibility to the Spotlight: Women Artists from the 20th and 21st Centuries You Need to Know

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is now offering accessible online art courses where you can learn about key concepts and ideas in the history of modern and contemporary art from an up-to-date perspective.

Online Art Course. From Invisibility to the Spotlight: Women Artists from the 20th and 21st Centuries You Need to Know | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Creative Sessions [18+]: Stained-Glass Windows

In this introductory workshop, Paula Ruibal, an enthusiast of nature, music, sculpture, and the decorative arts, will lead you on an exploration of the creative and technical processes behind stained-glass windows, one of the lesser-known aspects of Maria Helena Vieira da Silva’s oeuvre. In 1966, Vieira da Silva was asked to make a stained-glass window for the Église Saint-Jacques in Reims, France. This commission will be used to analyze the painter’s understanding of light as an element that could transform space.
Duration: 90 min.
Limited spaces available

In this introductory workshop, Paula Betanzos, an enthusiast of nature, music, sculpture, and the decorative arts

Creative Sessions [18+]: Stained-Glass Windows | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Guided Tours

Tours

Explore the exhibition Arts of the Earth, the new presentation from the Museum Collection, or the work of Portuguese artist Maria Helena Vieira da Silva in these special guided tours, in Spanish or Basque.
And head over to the Guggenheim Bilbao Channel for exclusive content about our exhibitions: audio guides, curator-led tours, and more.
<table style="height: 583px;" width="788">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="245">DATE</td>
<td width="76">TIME</td>
<td width="136">No. of GROUPS
(20 visitors/group)</td>
<td width="119">LANGUAGE</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Arts of the Earth</td>
<td width="76">60 min.</td>
<td width="136"> </td>
<td width="119"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Friday, January 9</td>
<td width="76">12:00 pm</td>
<td width="136">1 group</td>
<td width="119">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Friday, January 9</td>
<td width="76">1:00 pm</td>
<td width="136">1 group</td>
<td width="119">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Sunday, January 11</td>
<td width="76">12:00 pm</td>
<td width="136">1 group</td>
<td width="119">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Sunday, January 11</td>
<td width="76">1:00 pm</td>
<td width="136">1 group</td>
<td width="119">Basque</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Friday, January 16</td>
<td width="76">5:00 pm</td>
<td width="136">1 group</td>
<td width="119">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Friday, January 16</td>
<td width="76">6:00 pm</td>
<td width="136">1 group</td>
<td width="119">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Sunday, January 18</td>
<td width="76">5:00 pm</td>
<td width="136">1 group</td>
<td width="119">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Sunday, January 18</td>
<td width="76">6:00 pm</td>
<td width="136">1 group</td>
<td width="119">Basque</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Inge Rodenstock Collection</td>
<td width="76">60 min.</td>
<td width="136"> </td>
<td width="119"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Friday, January 23</td>
<td width="76">5:00 pm</td>
<td width="136">1 group</td>
<td width="119">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Sunday, January 25</td>
<td width="76">6:00 pm</td>
<td width="136">1 group</td>
<td width="119">Basque</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Maria Helena Vieira da Silva</td>
<td width="76">60 min.</td>
<td width="136"> </td>
<td width="119"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Friday, January 23</td>
<td width="76">6:00 pm</td>
<td width="136">1 group</td>
<td width="119">Basque</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="245">Sunday, January 25</td>
<td width="76">5:00 pm</td>
<td width="136">1 group</td>
<td width="119">Spanish</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Explore the exhibition Arts of the Earth, the new presentation from the Museum Collection, or the work of Portuguese artist Maria Helena Vieira da Silva in these special guided tours, in Spanish or Basque.

Guided Tours | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

ITP Aero

Art Adventures: Cut out, Discover, Transform

Families

In this workshop, we will look to artists like Lucio Fontana, Antoni Tàpies, and Eduardo Chillida for inspiration. They all slashed, punctured, or scraped off their works in their experimentation with space, to see what was beyond the work itself.
In our own works, we will make holes or cut out windows to see how light floods the space. We will also add materials, one on top of another, to grasp how shapes and colors change with them. Through enquiry and discovery, we will learn that holes, scratches, and void can also be part of a work of art.
Conducted by: Aitziber Aguirre, Mónica Martínez, Mónica Rodríguez-Curiel, Maite Ruiz
Saturdays, January 10, 17, and 24 (Spanish); Sundays 11, 25, and February 1 (Basque)
Ages: 3–5
Duration: 90 min.
Languages: Basque and Spanish
Limited capacity | Limited spaces available

In this workshop, we will look to artists like Lucio Fontana, Antoni Tàpies, and Eduardo Chillida for inspiration.

Art Adventures: Cut out, Discover, Transform | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Courses: Drawing for Beginners 

Children and Families

Drawing for Beginners is a course designed to explore a variety of drawing processes and techniques in a stimulating and fun environment. In a series of activities using paint, ink, paintbrushes, crayons, and other materials, we will learn concepts such as symmetry, gradient, and composition, experiment with textures, and create images step by step.
Saturday, January 24 and Sunday 25 
Controlled Print
Using India ink and brushes, we will get familiar with drawing strokes and learn how to regulate our energy when drawing.
Saturday, January 31 and Sunday, February 1 
Symmetrical Drawing
Using techniques like monotyping and string printing, we will create images that are perfectly symmetrical.
Saturday, February 7 and Sunday 8 
Dawns: An Introduction to Color Theory
Using chalks and crayons, we will discover techniques like blending and gradient. The idea is to combine colors or tones so that they blend smoothly, as in a sunrise picture.
Saturday, February 14 and Sunday 15 
Animals in the Snow
Using templates and masking techniques, we will be able to create contrast and texture.
Saturday, February 21 and Sunday 22 
Upside Down! Figure and Background
Using animal pictures, we will learn how to master charcoal drawing.
Saturday, February 28 and Sunday, March 1 
Hidden Drawing
We will discover an amazing technique: tempera resist, where the drawing emerges under water, as if we were developing a photo.
Conducted by: Raúl Domínguez Pazo
Time: 5:30 pm
Ages: 6–10
Language: Spanish
Limited capacity | Limited spaces available

Courses: Drawing for Beginners

Drawing for Beginners is a course designed to explore a variety of drawing processes and techniques in a stimulating and fun environment

Courses: Drawing for Beginners | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Livestream Concerts: Berlin Philharmonic

On stage

A new year filled with Berlin Philharmonic livestreams on the big screen! This activity is organized with the Berlin Philharmonic Digital Concert Hall and the Bilbao Philharmonic Society in the context of the TopARTE program of the Museum.
<ul>
<li>Saturday 17: Symphony No. 8 by Gustav Mahler, “Symphony of a Thousand”</li>
</ul>
Kirill Petrenko, chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic; eight solo performers; three choirs; Berlin Philharmonic
Performers (subject to change): 
Jacquelyn Wagner, soprano 
Golda Schultz, soprano 
Jasmin Delfs, soprano 
Beth Taylor, contralto 
Fleur Barron, mezzosoprano 
Benjamin Bruns, tenor 
Gihoon Kim, baritone 
Le Bu, bass 
Berlin Radio Choir 
Bachchor Salzburg 
Boys of the Berlin State and Cathedral Choir
<ul>
<li>Saturday 24: Lahav Shani, conductor; Daishin Kashimoto, violinist</li>
</ul>
The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives 
Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, op. 77 (99), by Dmitri Shostakovich 
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World”, op. 95, by Antonín Dvořák
Once the concert starts, late arrivals will not be allowed in.
Duration: 120 min.
Broadcasting service provided by the Berlin Philharmonic Digital Concert Hall.
* Activity and program subject to change
Photo: Stephan Rabold 
Photo: Marco Borggreve 
© 2026 Berlin Phil Media GmbH

A new year filled with Berlin Philharmonic livestreams on the big screen! This activity is organized with the Berlin Philharmonic Digital Concert Hall and the Bilbao

Livestream Concerts: Berlin Philharmonic | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Books Alive! Not without My Toys! (Ages: 6–10)

This month, we will listen to the story of a girl who never goes anywhere without her teddy bears and toys. She often gets into trouble, but everything turns out fin in the end.
Following detective Cataplina around the Museum, we will solve a mystery as we take a look at toy- or pet-inspired works in the Museum Collection, including those by Jeff Koons and Mike Kelley. Then, we will make our own works using lovely dolls and cuddly toys.
Conducted by: Catalina Martínez-Moro
Ages: 6–10
Duration: 120 min.
Language: English
Limited capacity | Limited spaces available

This month, we will listen to the story of a girl who never goes anywhere without her teddy bears and toys. She often gets into trouble, but everything turns out fin in the end.

Books Alive! Not without My Toys! (Ages: 6–10) | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Digital Image Workshops: Light Painting

Get ready to create images in the dark with the help of torches, then capturing them in photos. Fun guaranteed! We will not know exactly what we are drawing until we see it on camera. Beginning with simple shapes to master the technique, we will then move on to complex collective images, working with letters and abstraction. For inspiration, we will take a look at light installations in the Museum, like those by Jenny Holzer.
Conducted by: Zaloa Ipiña
Time: 10:15 am
Duration: 90 min
Ages: 9–12
Languages: Bilingual (Spanish, Basque)
Limited capacity | Limited spaces available

Get ready to create images in the dark with the help of torches, then capturing them in photos.

Digital Image Workshops: Light Painting | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Orientation Session: Arts of the Earth

Educators

Schools

A session with the Museum’s Education Team to help you plan your visit to the exhibition with your students. Tour of the show included, to see how different artists deal with topics inspired by nature and the environment, resorting to a variety of materials and techniques. Arts of the Earth—an exhibition demonstrating the Museum’s commitment to environmental sustainability—invites us to take care of our planet, offering ideas for a sustainable future, especially in connection with soil health.
Time: 5:00 pm 
Duration: 90 min.
&nbsp;
Giuseppe Penone 
Fingernail and Bay Leaves (Unghia e foglie di alloro), 1989 Glass and bay leaves Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery Photo: Alex Yudzon

A session with the Museum’s Education Team to help you plan your visit to the exhibition with your students

Orientation Session: Arts of the Earth | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Film Screenings: Let’s Go to the Movies [18+]

Take advantage of our new season of OV films, organized with the help of the British Council for those who want to brush up their English in an informal setting. This month, the film chosen belongs to the More Film for Freedom program, which explores stories dealing with equality and diversity, gender and identity.
Made in Thamesmead 
UK 2024, 13 min 
Director Mary Martins
Duration: 75 min.
Limited capacity

Take advantage of our new season of OV films, organized with the help of the British Council for those who want to brush up their English in an informal setting

Film Screenings: Let’s Go to the Movies [18+] | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Creative Sessions [18+]: Kokedama Workshop

As part of our exhibition Arts of the Earth, this creative session focusing on the Japanese art of Kokedama will help you activate your connection with nature. Led by artist Itziar Unzurrunzaga, we will get acquainted with this traditional art form, dating back centuries, where a plant’s root ball is removed from its pot, wrapped in a special soil mixture, and then coated with moss. A Kokedama is a symbol of strength and union. In this workshop, we will make our own balls of soil, wrapped in moss and secured with string. We will also learn about the soil and its characteristics, and about oral traditions in different cultures.
Duration: 90 min.
Limited capacity

As part of our exhibition Arts of the Earth, this creative session focusing on the Japanese art of Kokedama will help you activate your connection with nature.

Creative Sessions [18+]: Kokedama Workshop | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Film Screenings: Vieirarpad

This documentary with fictional elements takes a look at the life of Portuguese artist Maria Helena Vieira da Silva and her partner, Hungarian painter Árpád Szenes. It focuses on their intimate writing between 1932 and 1961, revealing the sensitivity of the world they built together and the work each of them did on their own. Vieira da Silva and Szenes’s writing is supplemented with a thorough documentation of their social, intellectual, and political milieu, including archival images. The film, released in 2022, is a Zulfilmes production, directed by João Mário Grilo.
Duration: 90 min.

This documentary with fictional elements takes a look at the life of Portuguese artist Maria Helena Vieira da Silva and her partner

Film Screenings: Vieirarpad | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Creativity Lab: Pop Factory

In this creativity lab, we will follow in the footsteps of artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, inspired by their bright colors, their use of repetition, and the techniques of Pop Art. The use of templates in Warhol’s fashion will enable us to play with the visual elements, laying them out in different series and combinations. This will show us how a single image can take on multiple meanings through color, composition, and creative repetition.
Conducted by: Aitziber Aguirre, Mónica Martínez
Sunday, January 18 (Basque) and Saturday 31 (Spanish)
Duration: 90 min.
Ages: 6–10
Languages: Basque and Spanish
Limited capacity | Limited spaces available

In this creativity lab, we will follow in the footsteps of artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol

Creativity Lab: Pop Factory | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Digital Image Workshops: Animation with Pika-Pika

Let’s take photographs of light drawings to make an animation video using the pika-pika technique! Pika-pika is a Japanese onomatopoeia for something that is shiny, sparkling, or gleaming. It refers to a technique used to generate moving images by drawing with torches in the dark.
Taking inspiration from artists Jenny Holzer and Lucio Fontana, you will tell your own stories with abstract elements and moving letters that appear between frames. Even if you have never drawn before, you can create animations with this method that anyone can use. You can’t go wrong!
Conducted by: Zaloa Ipiña
Time: 10:15 pm
Duration: 90 min.
Ages: 9–12
Languages: Bilingual (Spanish, Basque)
Limited capacity | Limited spaces available

Let’s take photographs of light drawings to make an animation video using the pika-pika technique!

Digital Image Workshops: Animation with Pika-Pika | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Art as a Mirror of the World Around Us

“Approaching Art” is a series of introductory courses to contemporary art that deal with seminal key concepts with an instructive, accessible approach. Each course is divided into three easy-to-grasp modules, which also work as independent units, for the enjoyment and understanding of contemporary art, the Museum’s exhibitions, and the works in the Collection.
Conducted by: Iñigo Sarriugarte Gómez, Professor of History of Art at the University of the Basque Country (EHU/UPV) 
Type of course: on-site (it can be done online) 
Day and time: Tuesdays, 6:00–7:30 pm 
Target audience: adults interested in contemporary art 
Language: Spanish
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN IN THIS COURSE?
<ul>
<li>You will get acquainted with a series of relevant contemporary artists, their production, contributions, and influences, and with a number of specific artworks, placed in their historical, social, political, and artistic context.</li>
<li>In this approach to modern and contemporary art, you will acquire some basic notions to gain confidence in this field.</li>
<li>You will explore the work of female artists and the place they deserve in the history of art.</li>
<li>You will discuss common threads in contemporary art that have acquired great importance and notoriety at a social level, such as equality, diversity, and sustainability.</li>
</ul>
CONTENTS
Module I: Utopias and Shattered Dreams
October 21: Social, Scientific, and Cultural Transformations 
From the late 19th century to the outbreak of World War II, the world witnessed a number of profound political, social, and technological transformations: the growth of cities powered by the late Industrial Revolution; unprecedented advancements in science and technology; the rise of new social classes and social movements. World War I meant the disruption of the existing world order, leaving in its wake a devastated European continent and paving the way for both revolutionary and authoritarian movements. In addition, the profound economic crisis of 1929 aggravated the situation of uncertainty and lack of stability, which led to the rise of totalitarianism in several countries.
Fundamental discoveries in physics, chemistry, and biology led to unprecedented progress in science and technology, transforming the way the world was viewed and bringing in modern times. New philosophical, psychological, and artistic schools—positivism, psychoanalysis, and the avant-garde movements—encouraged men and women to question traditional values and explore new means of expression and knowledge.
November 4: The Emergence of Utopia and Other Looks 
Avant-garde art movements, like Cubism, Futurism, Dadaism, or Surrealism reflected the uncertainty and the need for renewal of the day. New artistic languages and ways of thinking, under the influence of utopian and idealistic notions, were used in an effort to build a better world through art. Meanwhile, the language of abstraction that emerged in the previous century took root, and the new perspectives and forms of expression helped artists find forms of representation that were far away from reality.
Selected artists: Giacomo Balla, Marcel Duchamp, Vasily Kandinsky, Hilma af Klint, René Magritte, Kazimir Malevich, Maruja Mallo, Piet Mondrian, Kurt Schwitters.
November 18: Artistic Communities and Settlements—Monte Verità and Bauhaus 
In the early 20th century, artistic communities were established in Europe and America as spaces to experiment, break away from the established norm, and collectively find new ways of living and creating. Inspired by utopian ideals and driven by the will to challenge social conventions, these communities gathered artists, intellectuals, and reformers.
An emblematic case in Europe, Monte Verità, Switzerland, was considered a forerunner of alternative movements. It brought together artists, writers, and thinkers in search for freedom, life in contact with nature, and experimentation in the spheres of art and ideas in the early 20th century. Monte Verità became a laboratory for new practices combining art, dance, spirituality, vegetarianism, and communal life, anticipating some of the aspects of the countercultural movements of later years.
There were other, similar, initiatives across Europe. The Bauhaus in Germany, for instance, was a creative, interdisciplinary community where art, architecture, and designed were integrated under a transformative, and collective approach.
Selected artists: Josef and Anni Albers, Marcel Breuer, Isadora Duncan, Walter Gropius, Alexej von Jawlensky, Paul Klee, Rudolf von Laban, László Moholy-Nagy, Oskar Schlemmer, Gunta Stölzl, Marianne von Werefkin, Mary Wigman.
December 2: Tour of the exhibition Maria Helena Vieira da Silva. Anatomy of Space.
Module II: In Search for New Freedoms
January 20: Social, Scientific, and Cultural Transformations 
The end of World War II marked the beginning of a new era of transformations and a new global order. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, Europe and Japan undertook their reconstruction, which led to unprecedented economic growth in the Western world. Decolonization began in Africa and Asia, changing the political map of the world.
Among the most relevant scientific innovations of the period, the Space Race and man’s first landing on the Moon in 1969, advances in nuclear power and medicine, or the development of new technologies revolutionized communications and everyday life.
Existentialism, structuralism, hermeneutics, postmodernism, and liberation movements framed and gave voice to mankind’s concerns associated with the uncertainty of the post-war world, the reconstruction efforts, and the need to find new meanings for life and new forms of freedom.
February 3: Organicism, St Ives School, Informalism, New York School v. Pop Art 
The visual arts reflected the profound changes experienced in the world in the aftermath of World War II, with the tensions and aspirations that characterized societies in need of change. The emerging art movements broke away from traditional aesthetics, promoting artistic languages that were essentially abstract.
In the 1950s, as London was grappling with the consequences of the war, a group of artists gathered in the Cornish town of St Ives. The St Ives School and organic sculpture led the avant-garde in Britain: they promoted the use of nature-inspired forms and the harmonious integration of the artwork and its environment. In France and Spain, the art scene was dominated by Informalism or Art Informel, while in America, Abstract Expressionism promoted abstract, non-representational art on an international level, while Pop Art championed popular culture and figurative art.
Selected artists: Arman, Marisol Escobar, Richard Hamilton, Barbara Hepworth, Roy Lichtenstein, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Andy Warhol.
February 17: The Dematerialization of Art and the Emergence of New “Exhibition Spaces” 
In the 1960s and 1970s, against the backdrop of the pacifist and feminist movements, art turned once again to nature, landscape, and the Earth, albeit not under a traditional, figurative approach. Movements like Land Art or Earth Art, Arte Povera, or Atmospheric Art flourished in the art world, seeking new forms of representation or interventions in reality where nature was used as material (soil, wood, the elements, etc.) and/or as creative tool. This led to the emergence of new spaces for artistic creation and exhibition, such as natural or open environments, which transcend the walls of museums and galleries .
Through performance art and certain feminism and pacifist claims, the human body acquires and unprecedented visibility.
Selected artists: Giovanni Anselmo, Jannis Kounellis, Richard Long, Fujiko Nakaya, Robert Smithson, James Turrell, Yoko Ono.
March 3: Tour of the Permanent Collection and the exhibition Arts of the Earth, part 1
Module III: Without Borders: Mother Earth
March 17: Social, Scientific, and Cultural Transformations 
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the end of the Cold War and ushered in a new era, characterized by rapid globalization and significant political transformations. Social movements for the advancement of civil rights, gender equality, and diversity spread across the globe.
The rise of the internet and digital technology revolutionized communications, education, and relationships in society and at the workplace. The Human Genome Project, the use of renewable energy, and space research broadened the horizon of knowledge.
Following postmodernism, philosophy embraced pluralism and diversity while focusing on topics such as democracy, global justice, the ethics of technology, environmental awareness, ecofeminism, and decolonial perspectives.
New artistic practices appear to open up new spaces for reflection about social and environmental issues as well as collective identity.
April 7: Beyond Modern Art in the West: New Ideas and Creative Avenues 
In 1989, a contemporary art exhibition was held in Paris under the title Magiciens de la terre, curated by Jean-Hubert Martin. The show had a huge impact in that it challenged Eurocentric and colonial practices within contemporary art exhibitions, featuring both Western and non-Western artists shoulder to shoulder.
Later, the awareness of the true place that each artist occupies opens a continuous debate and reflection on decolonization in contemporary art, questioning the "official" historiography, almost always told from a single point of view, and giving visibility to other artistic practices that previously had no voice.
Selected artists: Agnes Denes, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Barbara Kruger, Cildo Meireles, Ana Mendieta, Huang Yong Ping, Susana Solano, Cecilia Vicuña
April 21: Tour of the exhibitions Ruth Asawa and Arts of the Earth, part 2 
May 5: Contemporary Art and Environmental Sustainability: Art as a Driver of Change? 
Over the past few decades, growing awareness of climate change and humankind’s responsibility in it has inspired a generation of artists whose creative purpose and processes try to shed light on this threat through art. Practices such as agriculture, agronomy, botany, geology, chemistry, physics, or biology inevitably intersect with the arts.
Contemporary art practices reflect the way in which we have related and relate to the natural world and the environment around us, how we have gone from being "spectators" to having greater awareness and involvement.
Selected artists: El Anatsui, Olafur Eliasson, Fernando García-Dory, Julie Mehretu, Asunción Molinos Gordo
&nbsp;
Image: 
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908–1992) 
Figure de ballet, 1948 
Oil and graphite on canvas, 27 × 46 cm 
Courtesy Galerie Jeanne Bucher Jaeger, Paris–Lisbon 
Inv. CR587

“Approaching Art” is a series of introductory courses to contemporary art that deal with seminal key concepts with an instructive, accessible approach. Each course is divided into three easy-to-grasp modules, which also work as independent units, for the enjoyment and understanding of contemporary art, the Museum’s exhibitions, and the works in the Collection.

Art as a Mirror of the World Around Us | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Lagunartean: Guided Tour and Express Lunch

Discover the new exhibition: Arts form the Earth
Make good use of your lunch break by visiting the Museum’s temporary exhibitions and having an express lunch at the Bar Guggenheim Bilbao.
Menu
Appetizer: Gazpacho
Main course: Eggplant parmigiana or Vegan/Beef burger
Dessert: Orange cake or Chocolate cake
Bread, water
Two glasses of wine per person
Language: Spanish
Members only

Conoce la nueva presentación de la Colección del Museo, que integra piezas del depósito de la Colección Inge Rodenstock.

Lagunartean: Guided Tour and Express Lunch | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Explore the exhibition Arts of the Earth, the new presentation from the Museum Collection, and the work of Portuguese artist Maria Helena Vieira da Silva in these special guided tours, in Spanish or Basque.
And head over to the Guggenheim Bilbao Channel for exclusive online content about our exhibitions: audio guides, curator-led tours, and more.
<table width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="39%">DATE</td>
<td width="19%">TIME</td>
<td width="25%">No. of GROUPS
(20 visitors/group)</td>
<td width="16%">LANGUAGE</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Arts of the Earth</td>
<td width="19%">60 min.</td>
<td width="25%"> </td>
<td width="16%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Friday, February 6</td>
<td width="19%">12:00 pm noon</td>
<td width="25%">1 group</td>
<td width="16%">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Friday, February 6</td>
<td width="19%">1:00 pm</td>
<td width="25%">1 group</td>
<td width="16%">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Sunday, February 8</td>
<td width="19%">12:00 pm noon</td>
<td width="25%">1 group</td>
<td width="16%">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Sunday, February 8</td>
<td width="19%">1:00 pm</td>
<td width="25%">1 group</td>
<td width="16%">Basque</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Friday, February 13</td>
<td width="19%">5:00 pm</td>
<td width="25%">1 group</td>
<td width="16%">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Friday, February 13</td>
<td width="19%">6:00 pm</td>
<td width="25%">1 group</td>
<td width="16%">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Sunday, February 15</td>
<td width="19%">5:00 pm</td>
<td width="25%">1 group</td>
<td width="16%">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Sunday, February 15</td>
<td width="19%">6:00 pm</td>
<td width="25%">1 group</td>
<td width="16%">Basque</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Presentation from the Collection</td>
<td width="19%">60 min.</td>
<td width="25%"> </td>
<td width="16%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Friday, February 20</td>
<td width="19%">5:00 pm</td>
<td width="25%">1 group</td>
<td width="16%">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Sunday, February 22</td>
<td width="19%">6:00 pm</td>
<td width="25%">1 group</td>
<td width="16%">Spanish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Maria Helena Vieira da Silva – Last chance!</td>
<td width="19%">60 min.</td>
<td width="25%"> </td>
<td width="16%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Friday, February 20</td>
<td width="19%">6:00 pm</td>
<td width="25%">1 group</td>
<td width="16%">Basque</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="39%">Sunday, February 22</td>
<td width="19%">5:00 pm</td>
<td width="25%">1 group</td>
<td width="16%">Spanish</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Explore the exhibition Arts of the Earth, the new presentation from the Museum Collection, and the work of Portuguese artist Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Performances: Doppel-Chess

Come and enjoy our interactive performance Doppel-Chess, designed by Olatz de Andrés as a dialogue between dance, chess, and the visual arts.
To Portuguese painter Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, chess was a valid tool for rational analysis and the development of intelligence skills, and could be extended to creative disciplines like dance.
Performed by Lokke Dance Company, Doppel-Chess has two central themes: chess and movement. Two bodies that merge through their own acts and chess pieces that move in connection with Vieira da Silva’s oeuvre and the stunning architecture of the Museum’s Atrium.
Duration: 15 min.
Limited capacity
*Activity subject to change. The activity is likely to be recorded for promotional and archival purposes.

Come and enjoy our interactive performance Doppel-Chess, designed by Olatz de Andrés as a dialogue between dance, chess, and the visual arts.

Performances: Doppel-Chess | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Baby Art: Playing with Light and Air

Surrounded by stimuli and playing games, babies and their families interact as they explore the galleries of the Museum. This season, the program will take inspiration from the works of Jenny Holzer and Mark Leckey shown in the Museum to offer a sensory journey that weaves together art, lights, and air – an immersive experience where babies can move freely around and explore materials that will spark their curiosity and awaken their senses. We will play with colors that change with the light, adding air to the mix.
Conducted by: Aitziber Aguirre, Mertxe Periz, Mónica Rodríguez-Curiel, Maite Ruiz
Saturday, February 7 and Sunday 8: 12–24 months (Spanish)
Saturday, February 14 and Sunday 15: 6–12 months (Basque)
Saturday, February 21 and Sunday 22: 24–36 meses (Spanish)
Saturday, February 28 and Sunday, March 1: 12–24 months (Basque)
Ages: 6–36 months
Duration: 120 min.
Languages: Spanish and Basque
Limited capacity | Limited spaces available

Surrounded by stimuli and playing games, babies and their families interact as they explore the galleries of the Museum

Baby Art: Playing with Light and Air | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Art Adventures: The Keeper of the Planet

In this workshop, participants will make their own characters to protect the Earth, using organic materials such as leaves, sticks, seeds, and natural clay. They will thus bring to life their own protecting figures for our planet – figures that stand for care and protection.
This activity brings together sensory exploration, artistic expression, and environmental awareness, encouraging creativity and environmental responsibility in a recreational setting.
Conducted by: Aitziber Aguirre, Mónica Martínez, Adria Parravicini, Maite Ruiz
Saturdays, February 7, 14, 21, and 28 (Spanish); Sundays, February 8 and March 1 (Basque)
Ages: 3–5
Duration: 90 min.
Languages: Basque and Spanish
Limited capacity | Limited spaces available

In this workshop, participants will make their own characters to protect the Earth, using organic materials such as leaves, sticks, seeds, and natural clay.

Art Adventures: The Keeper of the Planet | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Books Alive! Aliens in the Museum

Cataplina, who specializes in unidentified anomalous phenomena, is looking for strange creatures and beings from other worlds. She travels the world in search of extraordinary creatures, including aliens and extraterrestrials, for a gorgeous illustrated catalogue. She is coming to the Museum with a special mission: finding strange beings hidden in the Pop Art works in the galleries. Are you ready to help her out in her difficult endeavor?
Conducted by: Catalina Martínez-Moro
Ages: 3–5
Duration: 120 min.
Language: English
Limited capacity | Limited spaces available

Cataplina, who specializes in unidentified anomalous phenomena, is looking for strange creatures and beings from other worlds.

Books Alive! Aliens in the Museum | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Digital Image Workshops: Crazy Ball

In this workshop, you will take creative pictures using a ball lens (an optical lens in the shape of a sphere) for stunning visual effects. The lens will be a sort of magic window into Arts of the Earth – a way of looking at the exhibition from unusual points of view. The idea is to focus, experiment, and find new ways of looking at and recording the world around you with the help of photography.
Conducted by: Aitziber Aguirre
Time: 10:15 am
Duration: 90 min.
Ages: 9–12
Languages: Bilingual (Spanish, Basque)
Limited capacity | Limited spaces available

In this workshop, you will take creative pictures using a ball lens (an optical lens in the shape of a sphere) for stunning visual effects. The lens will be a sort of magic window i

Digital Image Workshops: Crazy Ball | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Family Holiday Season

Special Day for Museum Members

Wellbeing

Art & Music

25th Anniversary

Talks

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TopARTE

Activities

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s activities calendar. Concerts, lectures, courses, family activities, films, shared reflections...

Calendar of activities | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

15€ Adults - 7.5€ Senior - 7.5€ Students

TopARTE, an initiative of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, remains firmly committed to local cultural actors and organizations. The result of this fruitful collaboration is a multidisciplinary program offering a wide range of content and formats, reaching all kinds of audiences.
As part of this initiative, the Museum hosts activities from a variety of fields, including architecture, film, dance, design, gastronomy, music, performance art, and theater.

The Museum

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Useful Information: Museum visits, ticket purchase, reservations, schedules… 
<a href="mailto:informacion@guggenheim-bilbao.eus">informacion@guggenheim-bilbao.eus</a>
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