ZINEBI 68 PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE MONUMENT TO ARRIAGA IN ITS POSTER, DESIGNED BY JESÚS MARI LAZKANO

• The image reinterprets Francisco Durrio’s sculpture, replacing the lyre held by Euterpe, muse of music, with a reel of 16 mm film.
• The poster links the opening of the extension to the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum with the bicentenary of the death of the Bilbao-born composer.
• The Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Film will take place from 20 to 27 November.

The Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Film – ZINEBI, organised by Bilbao City Council, presents the poster for its 68th edition, created by artist Jesús Mari Lazkano. The image takes Francisco Durrio’s “Monumento a Arriaga” as its starting point and brings Euterpe, muse of music, into the world of cinema. The Festival will take place in Bilbao from 20 to 27 November.

The tribute responds to two events connected with Bilbao’s cultural life. Firstly, the opening of the extension to the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Bilbao Museoa, where the “Monumento a Arriaga” occupies a central position in the new atrium. Secondly, the commemoration in 2026 of the bicentenary of the death of Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, the Bilbao-born composer to whom the sculpture is dedicated.

In the poster, the figure takes on a golden hue, evoking some of the most iconic trophies in cinema, while its silhouette stands out against a dark sky. The lyre held by Euterpe in the original sculpture has been replaced by a reel of 16 mm film. With this change, cinema takes the place of music in Durrio’s work.

The composition retains the prominence of the figure and focuses attention on her pose and the object she holds. The contrast between the gold and the dark background accentuates her presence: Euterpe appears proud and steadfast, yet at the same time completely exposed.

It is within this tension that Lazkano’s proposal lies. The image evokes the strength and effort required to make films, together with the act of offering the work to the audience and the vulnerability inherent in any form of artistic creation. The poster thus brings together the memory of the composer, Durrio’s sculpture and the language of cinema in a reinterpretation conceived for ZINEBI 68.

Jesús Mari Lazkano (Bergara, 1960) is an artist whose work explores the relationships between architecture, landscape and nature. A graduate and PhD in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country, he has also taught in its Department of Painting. He lives and works in Urdaibai and has exhibited his work in countries across Europe, the Americas and Asia. He is a full member of Jakiunde, the Basque Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.

His relationship with Bilbao includes solo exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 2007 and the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum in 2010. He has also created large-scale interventions in spaces such as the Euskalduna Palace and Metro Bilbao. His work has extended into the audiovisual field with “Artiko”, a film linked to his exploration of the Arctic landscape. In 2025, he also took part in the first edition of ZINEBI Animation Lab.