September 30 through October 15, 2026, afternoon shifts.
Price: 30 €
Classrooms at the CFP UPV (Nexus 6G Building, 2nd Floor)
What will you learn?
The overall objective of the course is to provide students with conceptual and practical tools to understand how the contemporary art system works and to develop strategies for building a career in the visual arts sector.
Specific Objectives
• Analyze how the contemporary art system works.
• Expand and deepen students’ understanding of the terminology associated with contemporary aesthetic movements.
• Build knowledge about venues, networks, platforms, and industry-specific media.
• Learn about ways to gain access to galleries, institutions, and art fairs.
• Identify funding opportunities for artistic production.
• Learn how to prepare dossiers, portfolios, and projects for calls for proposals.
• Understand the basic legal and tax aspects of working as an artist.
• Explore alternative models of cultural production, such as self-management and cooperatives.
• Learn about professional associations in the arts sector.
• Conduct a comparative analysis of policies supporting the arts in various European countries.
• Develop a personal career development strategy.
This course is part of the “UPV 2026 TRAINING COURSES FOR THE CULTURAL SECTOR” project, a program of cultural activities organized by the Polytechnic University of Valencia for 2026, in connection with the direct grant program, code S0063, titled “COLLABORATION WITH UNIVERSITIES FOR THE TRAINING OF CULTURAL PROFESSIONALS” from the Valencian Regional Government.
Intended for:
Emerging visual artists and students in their final years of a Fine Arts degree, master’s program, or art school who wish to launch or further their professional careers.
Taught by:
Alex Devís Mainz. Fiction writer and attorney. Since 2015, he has been practicing law through the firm Agudo & Devís Abogados y Asociados, of which he is a founding partner. He is a member of the Commercial Law Section of the Valencia Bar Association, as well as legal counsel for the artistic professionals’ associations AVVAC and APIV.
Inma Femenía. Inma Femenía’s work is characterized by the relationship between materiality and visual perception, highlighting its connection to the digital realm. She forges closer ties between the virtual and real worlds, emphasizing an interest in the imaginary world we construct through screens. Her work has been exhibited at local institutions such as the IVAM and Bombas Gens, as well as nationally and internationally at venues such as Max Estrella and Offene Ateliers at Atelierhaus Dachauer.
Mar Gutiérrez Gargallo. Mar Reykjavik (Sagunto, 1995) is a visual artist. She develops her practice through video, film, text, and performance—elements she views as tools for research and critical thinking. Her work has been presented in independent spaces, institutions, and state and international galleries, as well as in educational and artistic research contexts.
Carles Àngel Saurí. Carles Àngel Saurí’s curatorial work focuses on developing methodologies for supporting, contextualizing, and empathizing with artistic production and the sociocultural contexts in which it is embedded. Between 2022 and 2024, he directed the Espai d’Art Contemporani de Castelló (EACC); he is part of the curatorial team at Pols (Valencia); and he worked on the outreach team at Bombas Gens during its early stages. He currently works as an independent curator.