BAR Resident Project: The Nail BAR, María Alcaide

Maria Alcaide in conversation with Mar Reykjavik
Tuesday 6th October

The Nail BAR
My studio visit. The city as studio
Thursday 15th October

Based on the project Guǎnlǐ from shǒu. The managed hand the artist proposes a route through the beauty salons specialized in nail care and massage located in the Sagrada Familia district. Unlike the salons located in the centre and upper area of Barcelona, which are mostly dedicated to female care, the establishments we will see during the tour also function as clandestine massage parlours. Neons, flowers, coloured walls, texts that are layered on glass, images printed on canvases, flyers and other advertising devices will serve as an excuse to throw some critical texts into the air, to recite poems or to analyse data on the feminised work in Barcelona, performed by young racialised women of migrant origin.

Mani-festa: the nail as a political interface
Monday 19th October

Online manicure session whose objective is the collective creation of politically committed slogans or slogans that will later be ‘translated’ as nail design. This workshop aims to show that you don’t have to be a nail painter to make your nails a space for expression. The messages coming from the group, either textual or visual, will be transcribed to the nail-surface with a kit of everyday elements made up of different coloured nail polishes, stickers, needles or brushes.