Page 123 - 2022 Symposium exhibition

Although the first Association of Watercolourists was created in Madrid in 1877 by a group of watercolour painters led by "Casado del
Alisal", and in 1914 our group was one of the sections of the foundation of the Círculo de Bellas Artes, the AEDA ( Spanish Association of
Watercolourists) of today was founded in 1945 with Francisco Esteve Botey, a university professor in the Faculty of Fine Arts, as its
President and Felipe Trigo, Municipal Architect, as Vice President.
The group has established as fundamental principles: the cultivation of watercolour in its purest sense, its artistic promotion in official or
group exhibitions, and the maintenance of equality among its members, renouncing any honor or reward within society. An advisory group
was formed for the practice and teaching of plastic techniques that its members have maintained since then without any financial
compensation. In this way the group has been officially recognized as a non-profit Artistic Association.
Until now, more than 2,944 watercolourists have frequented AEDA and, at present, it has reached 500 active members.
To date, more than 120 local exhibitions have been held (plus 10 provincial, 25 regional, 18 national and 12 international) and we have
participated in 15 different Spanish Symposiums, and organized the ECWS Salamanca Symposium in 2017.
AEDA usually impart watercolour classes to more than 200 students,

Manuel Alpañés Ramos
AEDA President