The exhibition ‘Quino. Mafalda and much more’ organised by the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) has received nearly 12,000 visits
José Manuel Prieto, Mayor of Gandia thanks the Port Authority of Valencia for “allowing the city to enjoy and get closer to the endearing character of Mafalda. It has been a great success in terms of public attendance and this original exhibition has contributed to expand the cultural offer of the city this summer”
The exhibition, which has already visited Valencia, Gandia and Alcalá de Henares, has been a great success, as can be seen by the 53,000 people who have already enjoyed it
Mafalda and her friends will be visiting Sagunto in the near future. The PAV has received proposals from several Spanish municipalities to host ‘Quino. Mafalda y mucho más’, the exhibition with which Valenciaport recognises the career of the Argentinian artist Joaquín Lavado Tejón.
Ester Medán, curator of the exhibition, stressed that “we want the exhibition to be enjoyed by the maximum number of people, so it can be seen in different municipalities”
València, September 5th, 2022.- More than 400 people a day on average have accompanied Mafalda and her friends Felipe, Manolito, Susanita, Miguelito and Libertad in the exhibition ‘Quino. Mafalda and much more’ which was held at the Casa de Cultura Marqués de González de Quirós in Gandia. The exhibition, organised by the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) in collaboration with the Quevedo Institute of Humour of the University of Alcalá de Henares and the city council of Gandia, has once again been a success with the visit of nearly 12,000 people. A great success of this event created by Valenciaport to bring the graphic humour of this iconic world figure closer to society in its city-port objective of contributing to the social and cultural development of the citizens.
Specifically, this exhibition takes a look at the career of the cartoonist Joaquín Salvador Lavador Tejón, Quino, father of Mafalda and of an acid and biting humour that often delves into the misery and absurdity of the human condition. It brings together more than 200 cartoons, advertising posters, audiovisuals and publications in several languages that show the international projection of the Argentinean artist’s work. Together with Mafalda and her friends, visitors to this free exhibition have enjoyed one of the world icons of graphic humour and her non-conformist and restless vision of society in the cartoons produced between 1964 and 1973.
The mayor of Gandia, José Manuel Prieto, said that “I would like to sincerely thank the Port Authority of Valencia for allowing the city of Gandia to enjoy and get to know the endearing character of Mafalda and to learn more about her brilliant creator, the humorist Quino. It has been a great success in terms of public attendance and this original exhibition has contributed to expanding the cultural offerings of the city this summer”.
Along the same lines, Gandia’s councillor for culture, Nahuel González, thanked Valenciaport for “its commitment to culture and graphic humour, and its collaboration with the city council. Mafalda is a character that has made us reflect for many years and continues to be totally relevant today”.
More than 53,000 visitors
More than 53,000 visitors have been able to enjoy ‘Quino. Mafalda and much more’ in its itinerant tour that has already been seen in the Clock Building of the Port of Valencia where it was visited by 25,000 people and in the facilities of the University of Alcalá de Henares with 16,000 people who visited it. Now in Gandia it has been enjoyed by 12,000 visitors.
The exhibition will soon be on display in Sagunto, to which new destinations will have to be added as different town councils in the Valencian Community and other regions have contacted Valenciaport to be able to enjoy the humour of Mafalda and her friends. The iconic character created by Quino is still very topical with themes such as the environment, equality and world peace.
“We want as many citizens as possible to enjoy the success of the Quino exhibition. That is why, in addition to Sagunto, we are going to transfer the port’s tribute to the Argentinian humorist through his character Mafalda to other cities that have contacted the PAV to host this exhibition”, explains the exhibition curator, Ester Medán.
The exhibition is divided into different sections, such as Quino’s Humour, which explains his technique and the meaning of his works. In the part dedicated to Mafalda, whose comic strips were published between 1964 and 1973, visitors can learn about the universe surrounding this world icon of comic strips. In the Homage to Quino section, the awards received by the Argentinian cartoonist and the recognition of society are on display.
Visitors to ‘Quino. Mafalda y mucho más’ have been able to download explanatory audios to their mobile phones via QR codes. There is also a Braille corner for the blind and visually impaired, and a section for children where they can take part in various activities.
Valenciaport’s commitment to society
This exhibition is part of Valenciaport’s aim to bring the culture and work of the port facilities closer to the residents and visitors of the cities that host these exhibitions. Over the last few years, the PAV has held various exhibitions related to port activity, but also to social and artistic themes, which have attracted a large number of visitors. Among them, the exhibitions on graphic humour revolved around three Spanish references in this field, Forbes, Ortifus Peridis and Quino. There were also exhibitions explaining the work of the port community.
In addition, the emblematic Clock Building of the Port of Valencia will host the exhibition “València, Porta del Disseny. Exportació dels nostres productes als segles XIX i XX” from 3 October to 6 November. The central theme of the exhibition is to display the labelling and posters of Valencian food products from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A work of Valenciaport which allows the port’s commitment to culture to be seen.