July 8, 2026 December 28, 2026
The exhibition, housed in the Kukula space within the Misericordia building, offers a contemporary reinterpretation of memory, heritage and the silenced voices of women linked to the Basque pottery tradition
The exhibition features forms made from oxide-glazed stoneware and seaweed from the Cantabrian Sea, materials that evolve over the course of the exhibition
It will be open to the public from 8 July to 28 December 2026
Bilbao, 8 July 2026. From 8 July until 28 December 2026, the Bilbao Basque Museum will host the exhibition “Uhinak”, a project by Ra Asensi, which can be visited in the Kukula space within the Misericordia building, a venue designed to generate new contemporary interpretations of the collection and Basque cultural heritage.
The exhibition was presented today by Gonzalo Olabarria, Councillor for Governance and Culture at Bilbao City Council; Leixuri Arrizabalaga, Provincial Deputy of Basque Language, Culture and Sports; Sorkunde Aiarza, Director of the Bilbao Basque Museum; and Ra Asensi herself, head of the exhibition project.
The exhibition forms part of the Bilbao Basque Museum’s commitment, with Bilbao City Council and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia as its trustees, to establishing a permanent dialogue between the museum’s historical collection and contemporary artistic practices, thereby creating new ways of engaging with Basque culture from a contemporary perspective. Institutional collaboration is essential to the development of the project, in which pieces from the Bilbao Basque Museum’s collection are presented alongside others from Gordailua (the Gipuzkoa Heritage Collections Centre).
“Uhinak”, which in Basque means “waves” or “ripples”, takes as its starting point research carried out by Ra Asensi into the memories of Basque women linked to ceramic production and water transport. The artist builds a sculptural installation comprising ceramic pieces inspired by voice waves that transform testimonies, silences and memories into physical forms that occupy the space.
The project stems from a process of listening and research based on interviews with former workers at the Porcelanas Bidasoa factory and with the artisan and director of the Basque Pottery Museum, Blanka Gómez de Segura. Through these accounts, the artist reflects on those stories that have remained on the fringes of collective memory and gives them a new presence through the language of sculpture.
The sculptural installation brings together forms made from oxide-glazed stoneware and clay collected in Ollerías, incorporating materials and processes linked to seaweed from the Cantabrian Sea. The pieces are displayed on Corten steel structures and accompanied by locally sourced water. These materials evolve over the course of the exhibition, giving rise to changes and transformations that turn the work into a living, constantly evolving piece.
Kukula. Reinterpreting the Bilbao Basque Museum collection
Located in the Kukula space, the exhibition is fully aligned with the purpose of the new area at the Bilbao Basque Museum: to reinterpret the collection from contemporary perspectives and initiate new conversations between heritage, society and current artistic creation. In this way, “Uhinak” proposes a perspective that links tradition and contemporaneity, memory and creation, highlighting experiences and knowledge that have played a fundamental role in the shaping of Basque culture.
With this exhibition, the Bilbao Basque Museum continues to develop a programme that places heritage in dialogue with current artistic practices, consolidating itself as a space for reflection, knowledge and exchange between Basque culture and contemporary artistic expression.
Exhibition details
Title: Uhinak
Artist: Ra Asensi
Space: Kukula (Misericordia Building, the Bilbao Basque Museum)
Dates: From 8 July 2026 to 28 December 2026
