The ZAWP terminal

Arantza Arruti La terminal

I want to dedicate the last post of 2020 to, of course, the great protagonists of this blog who, as you know, are the E.P., their projects and their entrepreneurial initiatives. So today, with permission from the thousands of E.P. who exist around the world, I’m going to focus on some I “found”, met, discovered and reconnected with last Sunday the 20th of December 2020 (beautiful date, right?), in the ZAWP in Bilbao. Other national or international “zawp” will come, but today, finally, it’s Bilbao’s turn.

I encourage you to keep reading, I promise not to take too much of your time.

For those of you who don’t know what ZAWP is, I’ll start by saying what the acronym means:

ZAWP: Zorrotzaurre Art Work in Progress.

ZAWP stands for Zorrotzaurre Art Work in Progress, a project of Haceria Arteak, a non-profit association. This movement was created in 2008 to “address the meanwhile state that is created while the urban development plan for the neighbourhoods of Ribera de Deusto and Zorrotzaurre is finished.” Today, we could say that ZAWP “is a consolidated movement of many people working in the social, economic and cultural revitalization of the neighbourhood through creation, intervention and enhancement of the memory.”

ZAWP has a manifest where they clearly say where they come from, what they represent and what they want to achieve.

  • They define themselves as a citizens’ movement open to all members of society, who self-manage and who are interdependent in relation to social agents, which gives them enough autonomy to exercise their rights and make decisions without outside intervention.
  • They are socially committed and are a meeting place that stimulates the generation of ideas and initiatives directed towards developing pluralistic, intercultural, transdisciplinary and decentralized visions that also emanates from civil society.
  • They see themselves as a laboratory for research, artistic creation, and production, as well as a platform for collective learning and social innovation and, paving the way for other companies and initiatives to enter the area as well.
  • ZAWP offers, among other things, an ecosystem where each E.P. can develop their projects and promote them in a meaningful environment for those from Bilbao, located in a neighbourhood in the process of an urban transformation and which generated great opportunities: the Ribera of Deusto and Zorrotzaurre.

The Terminal is one of those possibilities. It’s an exhibition area of more than 2500m2. Before, it was the factory of Estampaciones y Calderería which then was converted into a place for the exhibition and celebration of events, markets, urban festivals and similar things. For entrepreneurs, it’s the ideal place to show, promote and sell their ideas, initiatives or projects. I encourage you to enter this link to make a virtual tour to know the place.

Today, this space is divided into four halls or pavilions, and it has different multipurpose spaces to adapt for different events. Here you have more information about the terminal.

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak with Arantza Coote, one of the managers (now an intern) of the events that took place in the terminal. After doing a master’s degree in International Cultural Management and Social Innovation at the Complutense University of Madrid, right now she is combining her internship in ZAWP with another one she’s doing at the Guggenheim Museum of New York.

Arantza told me that with the situation we’re living, they had the idea to launch a new initiative for entrepreneurs. Their goal is to “generate or make easier little «utopias» where we can keep growing as the creative beings we are and, especially, having in mind that confinement has unleashed imagination, new projects…”.

That’s how they created UTOPÍA MARKET, a way to revendicate what’s local and creative as the essential supporting entrepreneurs or those who are in the process of becoming one who started pre, during or after the pandemic. They take in every area with the goal of being the public who discover and revive the place’s potential and the people who live there. The Utopía Market takes place every Sunday from 10:30 to 14:30.

Besides, during the Christmas special edition (this year it was on the 20th), apart from the Utopía Market, it also took place the Mercado Infantil de Navidad (MIN) accompanied by music, talks, fine arts expositions and a long etc. Everything at the same time.

Here you have a list of entrepreneurs who were at the Christmas Utopía Market:

If you want to participate in this market, you just have to get in touch with the people in charge by sending them an e-mail to info@zawp.org explaining your proposal and your discipline. If you want, you can also contact her by calling to 944 75 95 76.

Oh, I haven’t told you that the Utopía Market is organized by Cristina Pascual (responsible for communication cristina@zawp.org) y Usue Aranzabal (production/ekoizpen saila usue@zawp.org).

Will we ever see you at ZAWP any Sunday? It’s a walk worth taking, without any doubt.

Today I want to use this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and to wish you all the best for the new year 2021.

Translated by María Ubierna Quintanilla and supervised by Arantza Arruti.

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