CCEN opens its audiovisual laboratory to the public

Fabiola Villarreal Núñez | Jun 22, 2012

The e-LAB, the laboratory of new technologies of the Cultural Centre for Spain in Nicaragua, was officially launched on Wednesday 21 June by Victor Fraile, Project Technician of the Centre. With this launch, all the computers in the laboratory are available free of charge to anyone in Nicaragua wishing to process or complete audiovisual projects of a cultural or social nature.

According to Fraile, "for anyone who wants to develop a project, but does not have the technical resources to do so, the Cultural Centre for Spain in Nicaragua, through their e-LAB, provides these artists with an editing room equipped with eight Mac computers, two audiovisual production units with professional high definition cameras, microphones, tripods and lighting kit; this equipment is provided free of charge to people who want to develop shorts, feature lenth films, or record music".

The e-LAB will also offer training to university students, enthusiasts, educational organizations or groups who struggle to access to the digital world. Elliett Cabezas, the Centre’s programming coordinator, also indicated that projects should apply to use the laboratory and only those projects promoting culture, art, sustainable development or human rights will be accepted.

Meanwhile, Fraile informed us that "the Cultural Centre for Spain in Nicaragua is working to create a small sound studio to improve the sound recording that will initially be carried out with the sound editing programmes and microphones currently available”.

In addition, "the Centre offers professional photographic equipment including a professional camera with a video recording option, a complete set of lenses, flash equipment, high capacity memory cards and tripod ", claimed Fraile.

Access to services and activities

To find out more and apply to e-LAB training areas, you should visit the Cultural Centre’s web site where you will find the dates of new courses and workshops. Courses have limited and you must register in advance.

To use equipment and the production laboratory, those interested should send a written request (including an explanation of the project) to: elab@ccenicaragua.org. The Centre’s technical team will then evaluate the project, and once approved will contact the applicant to discuss collaboration.

The e-LAB is located in Managua within the Cultural Center for Spain in Nicaragua: Primera Entrada a las Colinas, 7 cuadras arriba. Office hours are: Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 pm. Telephone: (505) 2276 0733.