Christmas at Chillida Leku - Tour and art + architecture workshop

We will discover Koen Vanmechelen's exhibition as a family with a workshop inspired by his work and especially his Cosmopolitan Chicken Project.

Vanmechelen not only crosses chickens from different countries to create a ‘cosmopolitan population’, but through his art, he also speaks to us about the richness of diversity, the importance of cultural cross-pollination, and the strength that comes from hybridisation. His project is a living metaphor for how, together, mixed and interconnected, we are stronger and more resilient. And in this workshop, we will create our own tangible metaphor. Using the most humble and local materials—dried grass, fallen branches, leaves—we will weave nests for chickens. A nest is not just a structure; it is a universal symbol of care, shelter, future, and the place where new life is born.

Each nest we build will be unique, like each hen in Vanmechelen's project, but they will all share a common purpose: to be a home. Thus, together, we weave not only with branches, but also with ideas, creating a network of respect for life in all its forms.

Sobre Koen Vanmechelen

Artista multidisciplinar de renombre internacional, Koen Vanmechelen (1965) es uno de los pensadores más versátiles de la actualidad. Su obra se sitúa en la confluencia de arte, ciencia, filosofía y comunidad. Como eterno migrante, recorre el mundo en busca de respuestas a preguntas fundamentales que abordan temas atemporales y de gran relevancia hoy en día: la identidad, la diversidad, la globalización y los derechos humanos. Transforma esas respuestas en enigmáticas obras y proyectos.