T

he couple started thinking about having a house in the country, a place where artists could come and make work and spend time as well. After looking first in France, they came to Mallorca on the recommendation of a friend who had a house in Andratx; they fell in love with the island, finding a finca that fit their budget. “We lived there on and off for three years,” explains Patricia, “and we started to have a vision of doing something more, of having a space for artists to come.” Jacob applied for the property that sat at the foot of their house, and was able to purchase it. “There were no permits at first, and then no money,” recounts Patricia, but they finally made it work by bringing in friends who could help finance the investment. While most artist-in-residency programs and art centres are non-profit, CCA Andratx operates as a company, but one made with friends. “We own 50%  and the others are shareholders. They were very trustful and generous and we finished the building and they had their shares. It is a bit special – but it worked,” says Patricia.

‍

Jacob designed the building himself, working with local builders on the construction. Tucked into the base of the Tramuntana Mountains, the CCA is a large rectangular building with red tiled roof and a suite of galleries and studio spaces that frame a central patio that features a colonnade of arches and columns. The exterior has a traditional Spanish style but the galleries themselves are contemporary, white-walled spaces that are ideal for hanging art - especially large paintings and sculptures. There is also a cafe and gift shop on site. An upstairs area features a suite of 20-rooms that are used by the artists-in-residence as well as the shareholders for when they want to visit.

‍

The CCA officially opened in 2001 with a group of four artists selected by the Asbæk’s and a few of their friends and colleagues in the art world: Peter Bonde, Les Rogers, Jeff Elrod and Frank Nietzsche. They were all invited to Andratx to make work that was then exhibited in the galleries. There  was a board of directors early on, including journalist and critic Barry Schwabsky and gallerist Leo Koenig. Other notable artists who exhibited include Cosima van Bonin, Markus Oehlin, Joana Vasconcelos and Lothar Hempel. Over time, and thanks to digital applications, the CCA receives hundreds of applications a year and the residency program invites artists from all over the world, both younger, emerging artists, but also mid-career artists. The current exhibition series reflects the art centre’s growing diversity – both in terms of nationality but also artistic styles. In the main space is a curated exhibition by Clara Garau titled: La casa llena de pájaros y la cabeza sin barrer (The House Full of Birds and the Head Unswept), featuring work by six Mexican artists; an exhibition of paintings by German artist Helga Schmidhuber, a suite of paintings by Anna Belen titled Gedankenexperiment, about rigour and resistance and painting, and an exhibition of photographs by Magdelena Puigserver.