The Salamanca
A 215 meter luxury cruise ferry sailing between the UK and Spain. Including four restaurants, six lounges, shopping boutiques, children’s play areas, and sundeck with 379 passenger cabins spread over three decks, including premium and deluxe ensuite rooms.
Client: Brittany Ferries
Industry: Cruise Ferry; Hospitality, Marine, Travel
Services: Creative Direction & Full-Service Art Consultancy
Featured artists: Felipao, Karen Silve, Kimberly Poppe, KlunderBie, Mark Van Wagner, Rubēn Sanchēz
No. of artists engaged: 20+
No of artwork commissions: 11
Total no. of artworks delivered: 300
Discover the Spanish-inspired art collections on Brittany Ferries' three new cruise-ferries, all of which serve Spanish destinations and bear Spanish names. Each collection reflects the ship's specific namesake and Spanish culture in general, and is curated by Kimberly Poppe of KP Studio, an American-born artist and designer based in Amsterdam.
To create the art collection for the Salamanca, Poppe drew inspiration from the ship's namesake city, a beautiful yellow-pink sandstone pre-Roman city that is also home to one of the first universities in Europe, founded in 1218. She commissioned Rubén Sánchez, a Spanish artist from Madrid, to create bold and graphic street art murals that reflect Salamanca's lively, young, and hip student vibe. Sánchez's work is also featured in the Taberna de Tapas, an authentic Spanish restaurant onboard.
The art collections on the ship also draw inspiration from Spanish culture more generally. The central female figure in Velázquez’s revered painting Las Meninas is an endless source of inspiration for artists, and the ship features a virtual interactive exhibition dedicated to this iconic theme in Spanish art. The exhibition includes two large modern Meninas sculptures by Spanish pop artist Felipao and interpretations by the Dutch artistic and photographic duo Nienke Klunder and Wiglius de Bie of the KlunderBie banner, who live and work in Spain. Additionally, Restaurante Azul features elegant photographic portraits of local Salamantinos in traditional dress by the same artistic duo.
The collection is rounded out by paintings from Karen Silve, based in America's Pacific North-West and Provence, France and sand paintings by New York-based artist Mark Van Wagner, along with Poppe’s own contemplative photography of Salamanca and the wider region of Castile and León.
