History

Beginnings tied to fostering young talent

Before the Reale Foundation took shape, Reale Seguros launched a programme to support young talents engaged in fine arts across the world with the objective to foster their artistic carreer—providing them with a venue where they could exhibit their artwork.

Arte Reale started this way, expanding while supporting those causes that are part of the society that surrounds us. As a result, it has witnessed the exhibition of artwork from renown artists such as Luis Gordillo or María Gómez and famous artists such as Pedro Almodóvar, intended to raise funds for two associations that fought against the scourge of AIDS at the time.

Before it was a foundation, Arte Reale also focused on local projects and started supporting the Festival of Gestual Theatre (Festival de Teatro Gestual), one of the most deeply-rooted festivals in Reus (Tarragona).

The Reale Foundation is established

Although established in December 1997, the foundation was registered only in January 1998 under register no. 339, with an initial endowment of 1,000,000 pesetas.

The preferential objectives were the following:

• Advancement and outreach of fine arts
• Advocacy and preservation of nature
• Development of cultural relations between Spain and Italy
• Promotion of amateur sports

The first steps were directed to support the environment through a first partnership with the former Adena/WWF Spain, promoting exhibitions to raise awareness on the sustainability of the planet and the species inhabiting it.
At the same time—drawing inspiration from our Italian origins—the ‘First School Contest of Nativity Scenes’ of the Community of Madrid was established. Both initiatives took place in the courtyards of the Palazzo Reale, a building located on the Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid, and became a true showcase of the foundation´s activity.

Supporting those who are most in need

The first social projects were focused on the welfare of infants and young people.

• Aldeas Infantiles, through aid to preserve the Aldea SOS in Granada.
• Cáritas for the most urgent care, job orientation and training courses.

The partnership agreement was signed at the time with the Association of Families of Children with Cancer (ASION), providing support by offering maintenance to family homes, as well as conducting awareness campaigns.

Culture was also taken into account then: the foundation supported the Mérida International Classical Theatre Festival (Festival Internacional de Teatro Clásico de Mérida) and collaborated with the Abbey of Montserrat by helping preserve the Coptic papyrus collections. It also kick-started the phase which consisted of providing a contribution to upkeep architectural jewels such as the restoration of tapestries in the Museum of the Cathedral of Salamanca or the restoration of the main altarpiece of the Descalzas Reales of Valladolid.

The Reale Foundation was involved in highlighting the importance of protecting the environment: in line with the Millennium Development Goals, it created and collaborated in programmes such as:

• Improve the energy of your community
• Rethink the landscape of locations such as Trujillo (Cáceres)
• STAR European project for the environmental education of young people

The foundation today

The Reale Foundation supports the sustainable development goals of the United Nations and expands its projects into new areas:

• Mobility programmes with the Madrid City Council
• Visits to accompany elderly people who live alone together with Amigos de los Mayores
• Providing education to trafficked women (Apramp)
• Providing education and employment to refugees through the Spanish Commission for Refugees (Comisión Española de Ayuda al refugiado, CEAR)
• Supporting health and well-being to alleviate the pain of patients by providing music in hospitals through a collaboration with Música en Vena.

Looking beyond our borders

Due to its aims and objectives, the Reale Foundation has not travelled a whole lot, but it has made an impact by expanding its borders and making a small contribution to help those affected by tragedies and natural disasters.

• Akshy: school for the education of small children in Bodghaya (India)
• Global Play: launch of two vocational schools for adolescents in the towns of Promani and Benena (Mali)
• Various initiatives set within the emergency protocol, dealing with natural disasters and international crises that were not foreseeable, such as those in Philippines and Haiti, or Ebola in Africa.