Willa Vasquez Serfaty
Encyclopedia
Willa Vasquez Serfaty is a Gibraltarian
artist
.
She was born in Gibraltar
in 1954 into an artistic family, from an early age Willa became a pupil of local artist Leni Mifsud, one of the few women artists who were making their mark in painting. Later on she studied drawing at the Academia Marqués de Cuba in Madrid
.
She had her first joint exhibition at the age of 18 with her sisters in Gibraltar followed by another one the following year in London
, at the Kings Gallery in Hampstead
, after that Willa spent some time in Florence
, Italy
learning new techniques.
Since then Willa has been a prominent figure in the art world in Gibraltar, she has had a number of very successful exhibitions and has also exhibited in a plethora of collective exhibitions both in Gibraltar and Spain
. Her work was chosen for a collection of works by artists of the Campo de Gibraltar
held in the Spanish institute in Manhattan
, New York
, which subsequently toured various cities within the United States
.
She was a member of the Stamps Advisory Committee between 1989 and 1994. Until 2005 she has also been a member of Gibraltar Government Arts Advisory Council, organising both historical and competitive exhibitions.
For the last twenty five years she has held art classes classes at the "Arts Centre" in Gibraltar. She has recently been the founding member and President of the Gibraltar Fine Arts Association, and inaugurated the Fine Arts Gallery at Grand Casemates Square in 2001 as a hub for the work of local artists. She stepped down from the association after seven years to concentrate on her artistic career.
Gibraltarian people
The Gibraltarians are a cultural group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean sea.- Origins :...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.
She was born in Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
in 1954 into an artistic family, from an early age Willa became a pupil of local artist Leni Mifsud, one of the few women artists who were making their mark in painting. Later on she studied drawing at the Academia Marqués de Cuba in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
She had her first joint exhibition at the age of 18 with her sisters in Gibraltar followed by another one the following year in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, at the Kings Gallery in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, after that Willa spent some time in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
learning new techniques.
Since then Willa has been a prominent figure in the art world in Gibraltar, she has had a number of very successful exhibitions and has also exhibited in a plethora of collective exhibitions both in Gibraltar and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Her work was chosen for a collection of works by artists of the Campo de Gibraltar
Campo de Gibraltar
The comarca of the Campo de Gibraltar is a comarca in the province of Cádiz, Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, the southernmost part of continental Western Europe...
held in the Spanish institute in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, which subsequently toured various cities within the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
She was a member of the Stamps Advisory Committee between 1989 and 1994. Until 2005 she has also been a member of Gibraltar Government Arts Advisory Council, organising both historical and competitive exhibitions.
For the last twenty five years she has held art classes classes at the "Arts Centre" in Gibraltar. She has recently been the founding member and President of the Gibraltar Fine Arts Association, and inaugurated the Fine Arts Gallery at Grand Casemates Square in 2001 as a hub for the work of local artists. She stepped down from the association after seven years to concentrate on her artistic career.