Cluster Crafts would like to personally thank Icaro for this wonderful text. Also, his drive, passion and loyalty is something we cherish here at Cluster. His presence at the Cluster Crafts Fair | May 2019 edition was undoubtedly extremely valuable and we are forever grateful for him helping us throughout the journey.


Here’s what the artist has to say:

There are many people who ask me about my experience with Cluster, I would like to share some thoughts here:

It can be said that I have always worked from the margins of artistic circuits, in small intimate spaces and without reaching much diffusion. I was never interested in the world of art galleries.

Upon learning about Cluster through an invitation to participate, I was somewhat curious about the proposal and its concept. I had always dreamed of finding a shared space that generated links from which to experience and enhance our ability to create together new places and imagery for art. Without a doubt, in a world a individualistic as the one we live in, the greatest revolution that can be made is that of human encounter. It is necessary to create spaces for the common. Another of my great struggles has been how to break the bond that unites the artistic with the economic and the commercial in certain sectors.

I was attracted by the proposal that there be no art galleries involved, that intermediaries be eliminated, that it be a direct encounter with pure creation, without mitigating it, without complexes. An encounter with diversity, open to finding synectics and synergies between languages, materials, themes, ways of meeting and people. A melting pot defined by the need to express oneself and together bring to the culture new forms, options and realities.

I decided to embark on this adventure without knowing what I was going to find, and this is how I met Ema Marinova and Lucy Swift, two great women who with great strength and dedication, without many means and with much creativity, carried out such a project. A movement that is growing rapidly and we still do not know how far it will go or what it will become.

Cluster is undoubtedly a new concept that transcends that of the conventional "art fair". Conceived as a joint project, as a safe home for creation, it houses more than 300 creatives, creating a strong community. As part of this group you find yourself covered through a program of monthly meetings, professional support, individual development sessions, talks, seminars and workshops, as well as the opportunity to participate in a continuous series of projects. A shared journey that generates meeting spaces between artists, sharing stories and struggles, inciting conversations and collaborations. Cluster is an alternative experience.

Personally, I am very fond of meeting Cluster Crafts, it was the first time that I have traveled outside of "home" and this has opened many doors for me in the cultural world. It has made me grow as an artist and has given me the chance to meet new realities. The concept of crafts in Spain is very different from that of London, here we are still struggling with this dichotomy of Art / Crafts. I remember an interesting debate that took place around this topic in a talk with Preston Fitzgerald.
I have met very interesting artists from different disciplines with whom I have been able to share. I remember another talk with a ceramist I have always admired and finally got to meet in person and talk about creative processes, Tessa Eastman.

Cluster is a network of infinite relationships that connects artists, collectors and cultural agents. I also remember the talk with Melody Vaughn, who strongly supports and promotes the creative practice of contemporary crafts .

Undoubtedly, the concept and form of this new "art fair" has already been created, now, facing the ordinary: how can we face being part of this community? Will we be participants or collaborators? What will be our degree of involvement? How will we manage this collective energy produced? Can this model be exported to other cities?

Thank you Ema and Lucy for creating this platform to drive each style, each artist unique and diverse, without limits. Thank you for involving us and promoting meetings and collaborations. Count on me to continue building the Cluster Constellation.

Cluster: stars held together by mutual gravitation, uniting luminosity to intensify their collective visibility.

Icaro Maiterena