Sabrina Amrani is Co-Founder and Director of the eponymous gallery established in Madrid with two locations.
We recently reached out to Amrani to see how she’s fairing while in confinement. She shared that like the rest of us, she’s doing her best and finding hope in seeing simple acts of generosity.
WHITEWALL: How are you doing?
SABRINA AMRANI: I am doing my best. I am confined like many people all over the globe. I do not have time to be bored or to think about too much other than work. I am working a lot and taking care of my children, adjusting to this new situation, being a gallerist-mother-teacher-housekeeper-confinee. In the overall I am fine, thank you.
WW: What are you listening to, reading, watch?
SA: At home we are living at the pace of the family as a whole/entity, which means we are listening mainly our daughters playlist’s (Carlos Sadness, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, and toddlers songs) mixed with our very eclectic taste.
I just began the last Malcolm Gladwell book, Talking to Strangers, in a great effort when I have a five minutes reading time before going to sleep. Unfortunately I do not have a lot of time for myself, as we have been working on the recent launch of the gallery online with new exhibitions.
WW: What are you cooking?
SA: I am a little ashamed to admit that I am not a good cook, and even not a cook at all! Fortunately I am confined with a wonderful man who loves cooking and does it wonderfully. These last days we have been immersed in Hong Kong cuisine. It may be related to the habit of usually participating to Art Basel in Hong Kong , an event we greatly missed.
WW: How are you staying connected?
SA: I am staying connected thanks to technology—my smartphone, and laptop are my unique windows.
I am following closely the situation in Spain through TV news, allowing myself to watch once a day, in order to keep my optimism high. And I rely on many friends and colleagues around the world to know about their realities and get a glimpse of their day to day. Most of my time connected is for reading about what’s happening in the art world and its market, discovering new artists.
WW: How are you staying creative? Are you able to make work at this time?
SA: I am staying creative because it is a challenging situation, where one has to find the resources needed from home and at home. We are able to work, there are no big changes with what we used to do before the lock down. The gallery team being split between our two locations, and my partner and I constantly traveling and hoping from an art event to another, we are used to working remotely and communicating all day long via mails, messaging, and voice.
Even with the two gallery locations closed and our activity limited to desk tasks, we have been able to produce and share new art from our artists with the public, through our online viewing rooms. We opened a show by Dagoberto Rodriguez, “Geometría Popular,” and a show by Joël Andrianomearisoa, “From Home,” with a live opening with the artist broadcasted on different platforms. We have Monica de Miranda and a group show curated by Christian Viveros-Fauné.
WW: Where are you finding hope/inspiration?
SA: I am finding hope in people, even in the most simple acts of generosity and thoughtfulness. We receive many calls, messages, and support from our audience, from art aficionados, and art patrons.
I find the inspiration in the uncertainty of tomorrow. We have to think outside the conventions, there is no normal in the current situation, so there is no abnormal. I am a true believer that it is in challenging times that the best ideas emerge. I think the same about art. Artists around us are proving what it means to create, whatever the context is, whatever resources we have access to.
