Vanguard Legacy,
rediscovered
Seventeen years protecting the legacy of an artist decades ahead of his time — from the founding book in 2009 to an international exhibition programme now touring Spain and Latin America.
The privilege of encountering a singular, vanguard artist's archive — and treating it as it deserved, across design, photography, editorial, and preservation.
Miguel de Molina,
a life ahead of his time
Miguel de Molina (Málaga, 1908 – Buenos Aires, 1993) was the most daring male interpreter of the Spanish copla — a genre he transformed from the inside, becoming its first significant performer and a direct collaborator of García Lorca and Rafael Alberti — key figures of the Generación del 27 — and of composer Manuel de Falla. Known as the "Rey de la Copla", he was an extraordinary singer, choreographer, set designer, and costume designer, and a prolific writer: a breadth of talent unique for his time.
Openly gay and Republican, he was persecuted and forced into exile from Spain. He spent decades in Argentina and Mexico, where Eva Perón herself protected him. In October 2024, the Spanish Senate formally recognised him as a victim of Francoist repression.
His personal archive has been preserved by great-nephew Alejandro Salade, Director of the Fundación, across two continents, a civil war, and two exiles.
Cronología — timeline produced for the Sorbonne Université / Casa de Velázquez exhibition, 2024
Built, managed,
and still maintained
- Logo redesign and evolution
- Stationery and institutional identity
- Typographic and colour system
- Merchandise collection design
- Consistent across 13 international venues
- Graphic design — all exhibitions since 2009
- Banners, panels, gigantographies
- Exhibition poster design
- Spain and international venues
- Three distinct exhibition series
- 3 major publications (300pp, 180pp, catalogue)
- Numerous smaller catalogues and brochures
- Concept to press-ready files
- Companion print items — postcards, prints
- ISBN-registered publications
- Exhibition and installation documentation
- Object and costume photography
- Archive digitisation and restoration
- Image library management
- ~800 historical photos restored
- Campaign graphic design
- Institutional presentations
- Pitching documents for partnerships
- Press materials
- Photographic image library
- Ongoing cataloguing and classification
- Living archive — grows with each exhibition
- Programme runs to 2027 and beyond
Vestuario de Diseño — panel produced for the Sorbonne Université / Casa de Velázquez exhibition, 2024
Restoration as revelation
Three books, one singular artist
These three books stand out among many publications produced over the years — each rebuilt from raw, unrestored archive material. The first book took six months of restoration — page by page, image by image. What surfaced through that process was the singular artist: unrepeatable, someone history is still catching up to.
Arte y Provocación
The foundational document. A hardcover monument produced with the Comunidad de Madrid. Prologue by the Regional Minister of Culture. Finished at Estudio CRAFT on Molina's birthday, 10 April 2009.
La Copla como género escénico
Catalogue for the major retrospective at the Museo Nacional del Teatro (Almagro, Spain) on the occasion of its centenary (1919–2019). Padrinos: Martirio and Miguel Poveda.
Los Mundos de Miguel de Molina
Exhibition catalogue for the Sorbonne Université / Casa de Velázquez international programme. Published in the prestigious ARTIS AMORE collection.
One visual language
Three books, up close
Arte y Provocación, La Copla como género escénico, and Embrujo.
Embrujo by Sorbonne
& Casa de Velázquez
Graphic design, banner design, exhibition photography, and catalogue art direction for the flagship exhibition of the Sorbonne / Casa de Velázquez research programme.
Embrujo — installation views, Casa de Velázquez, Madrid, September 2024
Seventeen years on tour,
no signs of stopping
The Arte y Provocación exhibition and its successor Embrujo have toured continuously since 2009. Estudio Craft has provided art direction and graphic design for all of them. Photography was produced for Spanish venues.
| Year | Venue & Exhibition | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Arte y Provocación — inaugural · 24 Mar – 12 MayComplejo El Águila, Madrid, Spain. | Art DirectionGraphic DesignPhotographyBook |
| 2010–11 | Arte y Provocación · 6 Nov 2010 – 9 Jan 2011Museo Municipal de Patrimonio, Málaga, Spain. | Art DirectionGraphic DesignPhotography |
| 2011 | Arte y Provocación · 25 Feb – 27 MarCentro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina. | Art DirectionGraphic Design |
| 2011 | Arte y Provocación · 12 May – 12 JunTeatro Argentino, La Plata, Argentina. | Art DirectionGraphic Design |
| 2011 | Arte y Provocación · 24 Jun – 30 JulCentro Cultural de España, Montevideo, Uruguay. | Art DirectionGraphic Design |
| 2011 | Arte y Provocación · 25 Sep – 23 OctCentro Cultural San José, Olavarría, Argentina. | Art DirectionGraphic Design |
| 2012 | Arte y Provocación · 16 Mar – 3 MayMuseo Emilio Caraffa, Córdoba, Argentina. | Art DirectionGraphic Design |
| Year | Venue & Exhibition | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arte y Provocación · 7 Sep – 24 OctPalacio Casino de la Exposición, Sevilla, Spain. | Art DirectionGraphic Design |
| 2019 | Arte y Provocación. La Copla como género escénico · 4 Jul – 20 SepMuseo del Teatro, Almagro, Spain. | Art DirectionGraphic DesignPhotographyCatalogue |
| 2022 | Arte y Provocación · 5 Jun – 31 JulCentro Cultural Gran Capitán, Granada, Spain. | Art DirectionGraphic Design |
| 2024 | Embrujo. Los Mundos de Miguel de Molina · Sep – OctCasa de Velázquez, Madrid, Spain. | Art DirectionGraphic DesignPhotographyCatalogue |
| 2025 | Embrujo. Los Mundos de Miguel de Molina · 8 Apr – 9 MaySala Pintores 10, Cáceres, Spain. | Art DirectionGraphic DesignPhotography |
| 2025 | Miguel de Molina. Yo quiero ser diferente · 30 Jun – 26 OctCentre Cultural La Nau, Valencia, Spain. | Art DirectionGraphic Design |
Diseño de Escenografía — panel produced for the Sorbonne Université / Casa de Velázquez exhibition, 2024
Design and photography
as a single system
Exhibition documentation, object photography, and archive digitisation for the Fundación were produced in-house at Estudio Craft.
For the 2009 book alone, approximately 500 photographs were digitised and restored — some over 80 years old, spanning Spain, Argentina, and Mexico.
Archival Press — Digitisation & Restoration
Restoration of the historical press archive — decades of clippings, reviews, and photographs documenting his coverage. What's digitised so far is only a fraction of what's still to be recovered.
Archive and exhibition documentation
Photography, digitisation, and restoration of material as it surfaces — documents, objects, and portraits rescued and catalogued with each new exhibition and research phase.
Archival Photography — Digitisation & Restoration
Digitisation, restoration, and full reconstruction of hundreds of historical photographs from the Molina personal archive, recovered from damage and decay, the oldest predating the Spanish Civil War.
Seventeen years
of creative custody
Owning the entire visual world of an artist's legacy makes consistency structural and self-sustaining. Seventeen years working with the material builds a depth of interpretation — a familiarity with the artist's world that only comes from that particular kind of opportunity.
The creative memory lives in the studio that built it.
Standout work only comes from going deep, patiently and consistently — and that takes time and dedication.
That dedication has been rewarded. This universal artist's legacy has opened doors to work with institutions among the most respected cultural organisations in Spain, Argentina and France — Sorbonne, Casa de Velázquez, INAEM.
Exhibition, publication, and communication tested against the identity system. Consistency built in.
Graphic design — banners, panels, posters, gigantographies — marketing material and merchandising.
Book and catalogue design from concept to press.
Exhibition documentation, object photography, archive digitisation and restoration.
Campaign design, presentation documents, press materials, partnership pitches.
Organisation, cataloguing, and management of the photographic library through 2027 and beyond.
