Residencies

• 13.10 > 18.10.2025
• 29.09 > 03.10.2025

This autumn, EUROPALIA cele­bra­tes its 30th edi­ti­on with a Spanish bien­ni­al. Exactly for­ty years after EUROPALIA was first dedi­ca­ted to Spain, EUROPALIA ESPAÑA will pre­sent, from 8 October 2025 to 1 February 2026, a mul­ti­dis­ci­pli­na­ry pro­gram that brings together heri­ta­ge and con­tem­po­ra­ry art forms whi­le offe­ring exci­ting per­spec­ti­ves on the­mes that con­nect and chal­len­ge us. The fes­ti­val inclu­des more than 100 events with 170 artists, spread across Belgium at over 80 venues, and KWP artist Sophía Rodríguez has also been invi­ted to cre­a­te a per­for­man­ce espe­ci­al­ly for this festival.

In this cre­a­ti­on for EUROPALIA ESPAÑA, Sophía Rodríguez embo­dies the body of sacri­fi­ce: a fema­le body torn bet­ween desi­re, sym­bo­lic vio­len­ce, and poli­ti­cal oppres­si­on. The per­for­man­ce draws on two of Francisco Goya’s most ico­nic and char­ged ima­ges: The Nude Maja, which led to his pro­se­cu­ti­on, and Saturn Devouring His Son, one of the ​“black pain­tings.” In Rodríguez’s per­for­man­ce, Saturn devours La Maja, the fema­le body, which is no lon­ger a pas­si­ve surfa­ce for pro­jec­ti­on but a living pre­sen­ce that remem­bers, resists, and responds.

La Maja Desnuda. Eaten by Saturn will be per­for­med twi­ce at BOZAR, which simul­ta­neous­ly hosts the festival’s main exhi­bi­ti­on Luz y som­bra. Goya and Spanish Realism.