Vila-real and Vilafamés exchange their art collections in a double exhibition: "Culture Knows No Borders"

The art has made a round trip between Vila-real and Vilafamés. Works that usually form part of the collections of their cultural institutions have changed venue to meet new audiences and share other perspectives. The two towns have opened ‘Magna’ and ‘Horizonte’, two exhibitions born from the exchange between the Fundació Caixa Rural Vila-real and the Museu d’Art Contemporani Vicente Aguilera Cerni (Macvac), which can be visited until 9 January 2027.

The proposal has two venues and two guiding threads. In Vila-real, the headquarters of the Fundació Caixa Rural hosts 42 works from the Macvac, with names such as Picasso, Miró, Dalí, Andy Warhol or Barceló. In Vilafamés, the museum opens its galleries to the foundation's art collection to explore the landscape as an expression of memory, belonging and the future.

Two distinct routes united by the aim of bringing to the public a heritage that both institutions have preserved and enriched for decades.

Two collections that change venue

The opening day began this Saturday at 12.00 hours at the Macvac with the opening of ‘Horizonte’, at an event attended by Vila-real councillor Sabina Escrig, local authorities, museum representatives and trustees of the Fundació Caixa Rural.

In the afternoon, at 19.00 hours, the exchange completed its route with the opening of ‘Magna’ in Vila-real, presided over by the mayor.

Curators José Manuel González and Joan Feliu have guided attendees through the narrative connecting the two shows. ‘Magna’ offers a journey through the artistic evolution of the last hundred years, in which international figures share space with provincial references. ‘Horizonte’, for its part, invites visitors to pause over the depiction of landscape and its capacity to speak of the bonds between people and the land.

“Culture knows no borders”

The exchange has also served to champion cooperation between municipalities. “Culture is not about borders, but about complicity”, said the mayor of Vila-real, who highlighted the opportunity to receive more than forty pieces from the MACVAC and to share, at the same time, part of the Fundació Caixa Rural collection with Vilafamés. “You don't have to go to the great capitals to enjoy first-class art: we have it right here,” the mayor argued. In the speech, the mayor recognised the work of both institutions in preserving and disseminating artistic heritage and invited citizens to discover both the great works of international art and the creation linked to the territory.

Heritage meets new audiences

The president of the Fundació Caixa Rural Vila-real, Sonia Sánchez, described the collaboration with the Macvac as “historic” and stressed that it gives visibility to the foundation's collection and broadens access to art. “‘Horizonte’ brings the soul of our art collection to Vilafamés, while ‘Magna’ brings key pieces of contemporary creation closer to the neighbours of Vila-real,” she explained.

Photo gallery