Workshop on Philosophy and German art at Hay Festival Segovia 2011

Today the Hay Festival, Fundación AXA,   Goethe-Institut Madrid, IE University and Segovia’s Esteban Vicente Museum presented the agreement they have signed for the joint organization of activities for the sixth edition of  Hay Festival Segovia. Said activities include the Dos Voces Libres (Two free voices) session, a conversation between Rüdiger Safranski and Juan Luis Cebrián, and the inauguration of an exhibit by artist Anselm Kiefer from the María José Jove Foundation collection.

“Following the success of the Dos Voces Libres cycle last year with Bernard Henri Levy and Juan Luis Cebrián, we are once again undertaking the same style of philosophical, artistic and literary journay, co-organized by Fundación AXA in collaboration with partner institutions,” explains Maria Sheila Cremaschi, Director of Hay Festival Segovia.

María Teresa Ortiz-Bau, Director of Fundación AXA, which will be sponsoring festival activities for the second consecutive year,  underscored the firm commitment shared by Fundación AXA and Hay Festival to the dissemination of both Spanish and international culture.

“Rüdiger Safranski brings philosophy to the public, making the ideas and styles of thought of key Germans, particularly from this new millennium, easier to understand,” says Margareta Hauschild, Director of the Goethe-Institut Madrid. “While Safranski transmits philosophical issues in his books, German artist Anselm Kiefer expresses his vision of the world through his art. His works of art are centered around German mythology, history, religion and symbology. In the 90s Kiefer began exploring more universal themes, focusing on the global destination of art and culture.”   

The Dos Voces Libres session will be held in the Aula Magna of IE University’s campus, housed by in the fifteenth-century Santa Cruz la Real convent in Segovia.

 “The Hay Festival has come to form part of our University’s DNA. As academic partner we share the same aim of transmitting our core values and multicultural ideas”, says Miguel Larrañaga, Vice Rector of IE University.

Spanish national railways company, RENFE, are also participating with a special high-speed charter train that will enable key players from the world of culture, members of the media and students to from Madrid to Segovia in 30 minutes on the day of the festival, and Segovia’s public library will be holding readings on September 16 of a selection of texts by Rüdiger Safranski in German and Spanish.

Goethe-Institut  

The Goethe-Institut is the Federal Republic of Germany’s cultural institution operational worldwide. It promotes the study of German abroad and encourages international cultural exchange. It also fosters knowledge about Germany by providing information on its culture, society and politics. The network of Goethe-Instituts, Goethe Centres, cultural societies, reading rooms and exam and language learning centres have played a central role in the cultural and educational policies of Germany for over 50 years.

Fundación Axa

Created in 1998, Fundación AXA is the philanthropic arm of AXA España, directing the company's philanthropic and cultural activities in the belief that patronage of the arts is a social responsibility of the firm. Fundación AXA has collaboration agreements with institutions that include  Museo del Prado in Madrid, Burgos Cathedral, el Instituto Cervantes, Madrid’s Teatro Real, Valencia’s  Palacio de la Música and Fundación José Manuel Lara, with whom it organizes the prestigious Fernando Lara Novel Award.

Renfe

The Spanish national railways network, Renfe, is sponsoring the 6th edition of Hay Festival Segovia as part of its “train of values” corporate social responsibility strategy, which has the promotion of culture as one of its basic pillars. Renfe has joined in the celebration of this key festival which fills the city of Segovia with such diverse forms of artistic expression, by placing a high-speed train which takes 35 minutes from Madrid to Segovia at the disposal of participants, as well as further connections from Valladolid and the North East.

Hay Festival

Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts is a not-for-profit Foundation (www.hayfestival.org). The main ten-day festival has been held for the last 25 years at Hay-on-Wye in Wales and is now a key multicultural event and one of the most important centers of cultural debate in the world. Former US president Bill Clinton, a guest speaker at one of the editions, called Hay a “Woodstock of the mind”. In addition to Wales, the HAY Festival is now also held in other cities worldwide, including Cartagena de Indias, Kerala, Nairobi and Segovia.