Our Spanish students visit a photography exhibition in the new ExpoGela gallery

Between now and the end of October, nine different photography exhibitions are going to take place in Bilbao, under the banner of ,Bilboargazki2011, an iniciative to promote the city`s image as a cenre of art. The exhibition encompasses artists from both Spain and abroad, each focusing on a different style and different themes.

Last Monday, 17th October, our Spanish students and trainee Spanish as a Foreign Language teachers visited an exhibition by the Chinese artist Yi Zhijian in the ExpoGela gallery in the historic quarter of the city. His work included photos of the Great Wall, and the secret landscapes of Sichuan. While the photos were very varied, the artist had identified them as his own by including in each a blanket of snow.

Our Chinese students actually recognised many of the settings of the photos, and commented to us that in reality, they would be completely packed with people, not as peaceful as they seemed in the photos. The rest of us realised how little we knew of this magical country. We had never wondered whether it snows, or whether it is warm, or what any areas apart from Peking and other big cities actually look like.

The Bilboargazki iniciative has organised photography workshops and three conferences. The two advanced workshops will be directed by two famous artists: Bosco Mercadal and Sergio Tello.

All of the exhibitions are completely free, so what are you waiting for? Go and see them!