Oviedo 2031 European Capital of Culture bid appoints eight curators

The team behind Oviedo’s bid to become European Capital of Culture 2031 is growing in order to build the best project for the whole of Asturias. A total of eight curators – four women and four men – have joined this month to develop different areas that will enrich the cultural proposal to be presented in December 2025.

Each curator, within their area, will work directly with Asturian creators, artists and cultural agents to foster their involvement in the bid through specific projects. This network will gradually expand with the project directions that emerge from this curatorial work.

The selection of the curators responds both to their professional merits and to the participatory process carried out by the bid team since the beginning of this year. Their contributions will strengthen the narrative and artistic dimension of the project, always from the perspective of a major regional initiative.

Public Cultural Policies: Jorge Fernández León

A leading figure in the field of cultural public policies in Spain and Latin America, with a long institutional, analytical and critical trajectory. He served as Vice-Minister of Culture of the Government of the Principality of Asturias (2003–2011), leading landmark projects such as the rehabilitation of the Laboral University in Gijón and the creation of LABoral Centro de Arte, of which he was founder and vice-chair of the board. He also directed Gijón’s Municipal Cultural Foundation since its creation (1983–1995), and has held senior roles in communication and public administration, designing and implementing comprehensive cultural policies.

Architecture and Urban Planning: Vanesa García Rodríguez and Ignacio Ruiz Allen

Vanesa García Rodríguez: Master’s degree in Protocol, Communication, Production and Event Management; Master’s studies in Business Administration; BA in Economics. She is Head of the Internal Department at the Official Association of Architects of Asturias.

Ignacio Ruiz Allen: PhD Architect, curator, researcher and international lecturer, creator of several European and Scandinavian projects on architectural culture, sustainability and the memory of industrial landscapes.

Contemporary Performing Arts: Mónica Cofiño
Her transdisciplinary career combines dance, performance, community participation, expanded dramaturgy and territorial mediation. She has worked in caves, seas, trains, airports and villages, activating the stage as a living practice that transforms space and social time.

Youth: Marta Fernández Silverio
Journalist and cultural manager, trained at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, with a professional background connecting communication, cultural creation, youth engagement and artistic practice.

Literature: Leticia Sánchez Ruiz (Matadero Uno)
This collective emerged from the 2023 reopening of Oviedo’s historic Ojanguren Bookshop, the city’s oldest (founded in 1856), where Leopoldo Alas “Clarín” used to buy books. The reopening was not a mere commercial recovery, but a commitment to creating a living, critical and transformative literary space that links Oviedo’s cultural memory with contemporary debates.

Musical Disciplines: Aarón Zapico Braña
One of the most respected figures in the Spanish music scene. A conductor with a strong reputation, he has redefined the limits of Baroque and Classical repertoire through bold, original and profoundly contemporary projects.

Contemporary Thought: Llorián García Flórez
PhD in Philosophy from the University of Oviedo with Extraordinary Award. His academic and teaching career places him as an expert in contemporary thought, ethics, aesthetics and critical theory.