The English Way

For a week in August 2021, the Catalan artist Maru Godás and the Irish artist Róisín Curé walked The English Way – the name given to the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. They travelled from Ferrol, stopping at A Coruña, to draw their pilgrimage. The experience resulted in the illustrations that can be seen in their exhibition, O debuxo é o Camiño or Drawing is the way. The English Way.

Their exhibition is on show on Newcastle University’s Long Gallery from 3 to 14 October and also includes a recording of the trip that shows, as if in real-time, what the artists experienced and drew in each location.

Peruvian chicha art by graphic and mural artist, Yeffry Huamán, and writer, DJ and curator Alfredo Villar, will be exhibited in the Old Library Building’s Research Beehive from 6 to 13 October.

The artists will present an exhibit of colourful posters and music linked to Chicha, a popular culture genre that flourished in Peruvian cities from the 1980s, and is representative of migrants from the Andean regions to the Coast of the country.

On 18 October, Eduardo Mendoza, one of the most distinguished Spanish writers of all time, will give an INSIGHTS Public Lecture at the University. He will be discussing A Lifetime in Spanish Fiction. The recipient of numerous literary prizes, such as the Cervantes prize in 2017, he worked for 10 years as a translator for the United Nations before embarking on a successful literary career.

Bookings for his talk, which will take place at 5.30pm in the Curtis Auditorium of the Herschel Building, open on 11 October.

A unique view

Dr Jorge Catala-Carrasco Head of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies at Newcastle University said: “In the Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies Section we encourage the creation of spaces for learning outside the classroom and open to the public.

“Our commitment as a civic university is reflected in our outreach activities, such as these two fantastic exhibitions which offer a unique view into Spain and Peru through visual culture. We are also especially grateful to the Instituto Cervantes in London for their support in the organisation of the INSIGHTS Public Lecture that will bring to Newcastle Spanish writer Eduardo Mendoza.”

 Both exhibitions will be open from 9am to 5pm and are open to the public.