Reus's Plaça de la Llibertat hosted the first Reus Talent Jove festival on Saturday, an event designed to discover and exhibit the creative abilities of young artists from the region. The day featured around 30 activities, involving over 100 young people across a main stage, an image and training tent, and a fair with 12 author proposals.
The fair showcased works ranging from jewellery, painting, and drawing to avant-garde disciplines like technological art. Among the exhibitors were two illustration students from Tarragona, David Centelles and Clara Margalef, who presented their creations. Centelles displayed bookmarks, linocut erasers, stories, and postcards, alongside his latest work, a small children's and young adult poetry book with his own illustrations.
"Each poem is about an artist, like Frida Kahlo or Dalí. There's a poem for each, designed to introduce the child reader to the world of art and help them connect with it," Centelles explained. Margalef, his colleague, exhibited illustrated prints and botanical guides. Both artists emphasised the unique perspective young people bring to the world.
Youthful Vision and Sustainable Art
"What we do is experiment and find our own language, our way of expressing ourselves," Margalef stated, agreeing with Centelles. "I believe it's not so much about changing the world but making it more open, more accessible. And I think we are slowly achieving that. If we do everything with care, little by little, we climb."
Artistic creation, for some, must align with sustainability. Mariona Blesa, a jeweller, creates pieces using biodegradable products, whose waste can be reused. "I have tried to make what I do fit with my principles, because when I left school, it wasn't like that. So I have been recovering ancestral techniques and materials to achieve this," Blesa said. She noted that while the difference between sustainable and non-sustainable pieces might seem small, the impact on the world is much broader.
"It's a small effort to maintain a better world for future generations," Blesa argued. Her goal is to work with new materials, transforming and reusing them. She concluded, "One person's rubbish is another's treasure."
In a similar vein, illustrator Clara Pellejà crafts handmade soy wax candles. "I have always been curious about making a product that wasn't toxic and that would be pleasant to have at home. I always liked to experiment, and I tried it. It's a world I'm really enjoying," Pellejà commented.
The Reus Talent Jove festival aims to become an annual event, continuing to provide a platform for young creators to share their work and contribute to the cultural and artistic life of the region.
