BILBAO ART&FASHION

Bilbao International Art & Fashion is a Fashion Design Contest targeted at emerging designers from all over the world aged from 18 to 35 years old. It has the support and advice of renowned professionals in the fashion and art areas. Bilbao International Art & Fashion’s scope aims for intercultural enrichment by showing the different approaches of fashion towards art and the promotion of fashion as a true cultural value. For this reason, all works have to be inspired or be directly related to the world of art.

GETXOPHOTO-INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL

Getxophoto is a festival dedicated to photography that takes place in Getxo (Basque Country) and supports the exploration of formats, stands and unconventional exhibition spaces to show the different images. Getxophoto supports -without forgetting what’s habitual- the exploration and experimentation of formats, materials and unconventional exhibition spaces, mainly public places. This is one of its main identity signs. It is not about decorating the city but cutting it to tell stories through especially chosen images. From walls to shops windows, containers, bars, yards or buildings, Getxophoto wants to approach different looks to the citizens and not only arrange the pictures like works to be observed, but to create emotions around them: complicity, questioning, links between people and images, neighbours and visitors.

FUN & SERIOUS GAME FESTIVAL

The Fun & Serious Game Festival was established in 2011 to recognise the best fun and serious games of the year and, through them, the work of artists, developers, directors, producers, and all the professionals in the video game industry.

November is the month of video games thanks to the 3rd Fun & Serious Game Festival, which is becoming a leading event in the sector in Southern Europe. Awards are given to the best video games in entertainment and other industries. The latter are the so-called ‘Serious Games’ using video game technologies in developments for education, health, aerospace, culture and many other sectors.

The awards are meant to debunk stereotypes about video games and give a well-deserved boost to the video game industry.

ARTESHOP

New art is born in the university and makes its debut in Bilbao’s shops. The setting for the exhibition of the artworks is not the usual. A new challenge for the young students of the Fine Arts Faculty of the University of the Basque Country.

BIME

Album releases, conferences, conventions, debates and class top musical performances will coexist in this event, called “Bizkaia International Music Experience (BIME)”. It will gather 18,000 people approximately, 2,000 of them professionally linked to the world of music, and will generate a 4 million euro economic impact in Biscay. BIME is Europe's leading music conference and festival dedicated to exploring new opportunities between the music industry and tech, gaming, sync and new technologies. In addition, BIME hosts Europe's first Latin and South American Networking Summit, bringing together top buyers and sellers from these markets across festivals, sync and brands.

EL SOL

International creative and advertising eyes are focused on Bilbao these days due to the celebration of the Latin American Festival of Advertising Communication, The Sun. Bilbao City Council and Biscay Provincial Council emphasize their support to The Sun Festival, and they believe that this event is a sure asset and that it projects an international image of Bilbao as a modern, attractive city, equipped with first class infrastructures and resources to host major events, whether cultural, sporting or any other kind.

BILBAO MENDI FILM FESTIVAL

The Bilbao Mendi Film Festival, Basque Country's International Mountain and Adventure sports event has become an international reference. Born in 2008, the festival works during the whole year promoting Mountain Culture through different cities and schools, thanks to an active cultural and mountaineer community. The competition section of the festival takes part in the third week of December, with the participation of filmmakers, climbers and lecturers from all around the world. The schedule is completed with retrospectives, photography expos, courses and some other activities related to culture and mountain. Member of the International Alliance for Mountain Film (IAMF) since 2011, its main objective is to preserve and promote mountain cinema in all its facets.

SHERPA SUMMIT

The Sherpa Summit is the global event that brings together CEOs, key experts and decision makers discussing and debating “the next generation of user interfaces, mobile search, voice search, interaction and user experience” organized by Sher.pa. This international event draws from leading business people, marketers and strategists, including innovators, technologists and other decision makers involved in the use of IT.

SELECTED

Selected Graphic Design from Europe is a two-day event for which Index Book, a Barcelona-based leading publisher specialising in graphic design books and visual creativity, brings together professionals from across Europe to exchange ideas and share creative solutions through conferences and workshops.

TECHNARTE

Technarte is an international conference on art and technology that has been taking place in Bilbao from 2006. After seven editions, Technarte has become one of the most important events of its kind in Europe. The main aim of Technarte is to present technological developments that enhance a broader expression of modern art, and to provide a forum for debate and reflection on the convergence between technology and art. In Technarte, the interaction between Technological Innovation and Contemporary Art applies to reality; the state-of-the-art technological innovations allow artists to explore endless possibilities; and the technological society uses the creativity of the artists as an inspiration to new technological projects.

AZPLAY

AZPlay, International Competition for Independent Videogames was born in 2010 as the commitment to the video game industry of the Azkuna Zentroa Culture & Leisure Centre. For almost an entire month, attendees are able to enjoy several ongoing activities; the event holds conferences, workshops and exhibitions of independent games made by Basque companies. Five prizes were given in the 2013 edition: best original idea, best gameplay, best graphics, best sound and best Basque game.

FIG-BILBAO INTERNATIONAL ENGRAVING FESTIVAL

A meeting and promotion point for artists, editors, researchers and enthusiasts of engraving and printing. FIG Bilbao is a fair, numerous exhibitions, an international competition, a diverse scene where artists meet and exchange opinions, ideas and experiences.

EUSKAL ENCOUNTER

Euskal Encounter is a computer party for computer amateurs and professionals seeking a knowledge exchange and willing to be involved for a few days in any kind of activity related to computers. A trend for such meetings started in the late 80's in northern Europe, i.e., in countries like Norway, Denmark or Germany. In 2015 it reaches its twenty-third edition. Competitions, talks, workshops and much more…

INTERNATIONAL UNSEEN FILM FESTIVAL

The Bilbao International Unseen Film Festival “Filme Sozialak”, organised by the NGOD Kultura, Communication y Desarrollo (KCD) is primarily conceived with the aim of creating an open space for those works made in digital or film format that have repeatedly been made invisible, rejected or censured in their own countries or even in the international framework, not only on account of the issues they deal with, but also because they can’t keep up with the current requirements of the film market… These works must be mainly of a social nature such as gender and women's issues, topics on human rights, social justice, environment, interculturality, etc… This festival is for every work of this nature looking for an alternative space to be shown.