Performance grafitti artist launches SPN iPad magazine

Spanish 'post-graffiti' artist Suso33 created amazing images on a 'smart' screen with a virtual spray can at the launch party at the Hospital Club in London of iPad magazine SPN - an arts magazine which has been wholly inspired by the culture of Spain. 

Featuring interviews with Manolo Blahnik, exploding cake baker Christian Escribà and musician Jane Joyd, as well as articles exploring where Ibiza's Go Go dancers go in winter, Spain's cabaret culture and hottest new gallery openings for 2014, the iPad magazine showcases the very best of contemporary Spanish design, arts, gastronomy, travel and music. 

Available as a free download on the Apple Newsstand, this cutting edge new app aims to bring young Spanish artists and designers to the forefront of the global arts scene.

The crisis in Spain may have impacted heavily on the economy, but difficult times have given life to many artistic talents and the country has seen a real surge in creativity with unique art installations brightening up the streets, new musicians speaking out and the country’s gastronomic offering going from strength to strength. The Spanish Tourist Office in London wanted to highlight these talents to a UK audience, with an aim to demonstrate the cultural richness to be found in Spain’s cities and urban hubs away from the beach resorts.

Each issue of SPN is themed around a season and issue 0, out today, has winter at its heart, a season not always associated with Spain. From taking a look at where the Go-go’s go in Ibiza’s low season, Spain’s blossoming cabaret culture and Valencia’s art collectives, to the hottest property from Madrid Fashion Week and interviews with Manolo Blahnik, Jane Joyd and the pastry chef with a difference, Christian Escribà. The launch issue also features a specially designed video front cover by SUSO33, Spain’s answer to Banksy, and an intriguing look at the most unlikely places to find street art.

SPN is the brainchild of Enrique Ruiz de Lera, Director of the Spanish Tourist Office in London and Editor in chief of the e-mag. Antonio Molina-Vazquez, the editor, is the founder and director of Spain NOW!, the annual season of Spanish arts in London. Antonio has over 20 years’ arts experience both in Spain and at key London venues such as the South London Gallery and the Tate Modern. His experience directing Spain NOW! has positioned him as a go-to contact for emerging Spanish artists, as well as ensuring he is on the pulse of London’s own vibrant arts scene.

Enrique Ruiz de Lera, director of the Spanish Tourist Office in the UK, commented “I'm delighted that we can now bring you SPN - I've been mulling over the idea of creating an e-mag that acts as a window to both a contemporary and unconventional vision of Spain by using all the possibilities the digital world offers. A place where you can find eye-catching images and video, great stories, memorable music and powerful art, whilst leaving space for some of the more hedonistic pleasures for which Spain is world-renowned, such as our gastronomy and the art of travel. I believe that SPN is a bold statement of Spain's beautiful complexity and its people's endless creativity and I hope that through this app we can encourage people to think a little differently and delve a little deeper into what has long been Britain's most popular tourism destination.”

SPN issue 0 is available to download on the iPad from https://itunes.apple.com/gb/genre/ios-newsstand/id6021?mt=8&letter=S