Student profiles
Elva Gigirey
Elva Gigirey, originally from Spain, worked as a market analyst and a lawyer in New York and Spain before enrolling on the MA in Arts Administration & Cultural Policy in Goldsmiths in 2007. From November to June Elva did her placement in the Marketing Department of Camden Arts Centre. In July 2008 Elva moved back to Barcelona and volunteered in several organizations and including Drap-Art, the International Recycling Art Festival of Catalonia, the art gallery Espai Ubú and BAC!, Barcelona´s Contemporary Art International Festival, whilst also working as a freelance fundraiser.
In October 2008, Elva started collaborating with La Escocesa, a centre of artistic creation based in an old factory. A non-for-profit artists association managed the building which belongs to Barcelona´s City Council. A year later, Elva became General Secretary of the association and improved the relationship with the Public Administration and joined several artistic networks, reorganizing the accounting, and organized public calls which increased the number of artists. As a result, Elva helped to reach an economic agreement with the City Council in March 2011 to secure annual project funding.
Elva finds her work as an arts administrator at La Escocesa is her dream job, acknowledging that there are many areas of improvement but their achievements and recognition grow on a daily basis. Elva hopes that continuing in this work can contribute to gaining better working conditions for the arts sector professionals in Barcelona.