At precisely 12.30 pm on a warm Friday afternoon, visitors gathered before the striking facade of CaixaForum Valencia, ready to embark on what would become one of the most profound cultural experiences of the year. The destination was FESTin 2025, Valencia's prestigious Art & Gastronomy Festival, which ran across 18 venues throughout Valencia, Gandía, and Riba-roja del Turia. What awaited attendees was the “Colours of the World” event—a carefully orchestrated combination of culinary artistry and the exhibition “Veneradas y temidas” (Revered and Feared). The timing couldn't have been more perfect.
FESTin 2025 represents the pinnacle of Valencia's cultural calendar, where renowned chefs collaborate with artistic institutions to create unique sensory journeys. The coveted spots for this weekend event had been completely sold out—showcasing the growing appetite for experiences that marry high culture with gastronomic excellence.
Manchego cheese topped with a square of membrillo
The afternoon began with what can only be described as a revelation in small plates. As guests settled into their corners of the high-top tables on the upper floor within CaixaForum, Maria Salamia, a curator who has been masterfully bringing gastronomy together with art since 2017, introduced the carefully selected offerings. “These are smoked sardine,” she explained, gesturing to the delicate fritters before us. “Actually, it's like a small montarito or a small tapa—you can make it with the ingredients you want.” She pointed next to a trio of vivid bites; cheese with pimentón, cheese with truffle, and a slice of Manchego cheese topped with a square of membrillo. Each was thoughtfully paired to evoke both tradition and bold reinterpretation, reflecting the very ethos of the exhibit surrounding us.
Smoked sardine
The vermouth selection was equally thoughtful. Maria guided everyone through four varieties, each telling its own story. “Vermouth,” she explained, “has ingredients of wine, white wine, sugar, botanicals, herbs, and alcohol. So you can mix these ingredients, but here you have different expressions.” The caramel-infused version caught my attention—“It's heated,” she noted, “has more density, you know, more weight.” In contrast, the lighter option was “fresh, more complex,” while the pink variety incorporated “strawberries and raspberries and these kind of fruits.” The white wine version, “the freshest one with lemon, orange and pomelo,” she described.
Vermouth has ingredients of wine, white wine, sugar, botanicals, herbs, and alcohol.
This careful curation of flavours was an introduction to the complexity and nuance that would define the entire afternoon's experience.
Entering the sacred and profane
Following this gastronomic introduction, we were led into the heart of CaixaForum's current exhibition, “Veneradas y temidas,” running through August 31, 2025. “The exhibition presents an ambitious exploration of female power spanning 5,000 years, featuring 154 remarkable pieces from the British Museum,” says, Andrea Gregori, the forum supervisor. I was immediately struck by the exhibition's scope—sculptures, sacred objects, and artworks representing goddesses, spirits, demons, and saints from cultures across the globe.
Kali, described as a manifestation of Durga's wrath, was associated with death and the creative-destructive power of time.
The exhibition begins in ancient Greece, where between 5200 and 4000 years ago, people living in the Cyclades islands crafted thousands of predominantly female marble figures. These stylized figures, discovered in archaeological excavations and tombs, suggested that early cultures attributed significant cultural and spiritual importance to women and femininity. The precision of the dating—pieces from c. 2800 BC, 2500-2300 BC, c. 2400-2500 BC—spoke to the meticulous scholarship behind this exhibition.
One of the most moving sections focused on Demeter and Persephone, the Greek goddesses of seasonal change. A marble statue of Demeter from 100-200 AD, likely from Athens, depicted her eternal search for her lost daughter. The accompanying text panels, presented in both Catalan and Spanish, explained how Demeter was one of the twelve main divinities in ancient Greece, goddess of agriculture and abundance, with power over life, death, and regeneration. According to myth, winter's barrenness resulted from her grief and anger after Hades abducted Persephone, and she refused to let life flourish until her daughter's return brought spring's renewal.
Hindu goddess Taraka
The exhibition's global reach became apparent as I encountered Mami Wata, the water spirit revered across Africa, the Caribbean, and South America. A painted wood and metal head ornament from early 1900s Nigeria, created for masquerade dances of young Annang Ibibio women, depicted Mami Wata elegantly adorned with two attendants. The light skin tone, the text explained, might represent an association with the colour white and spirituality, or indicate the spirit's foreign origin. From Australia came the Yawkyawk, ancestral mermaid-like beings from Kuninjku aboriginal culture. Owen Yalandja's 2011 sculpture, crafted from bottle tree wood, ochre, metal, and paint, represented these female figures who inhabit lakes and rivers, control weather, and bring rain.
As a guardian of the sacred waterholes where the Yawkyawk reside, Yalandja's connection to these stories felt deeply personal and authentic. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the exhibition was its unflinching examination of how female power has been both celebrated and feared throughout history. The Hindu earth goddess Bhudevi, depicted in a 13th-century schist carving from Odisha, India, was shown being lifted by Vishnu in his Varaha (boar) avatar, illustrating the myth where Vishnu rescues her from primordial waters after a great flood. The exhibition didn't shy away from sexuality and sensuality as aspects of divine feminine power.
Aphrodite, embodying feminine beauty ideals in ancient Greece, was believed to ignite passion in all its forms—from love and sexual ecstasy to rage and despair. A Roman statue of Venus from 100-150 AD, found in Italy and originally located in the port of Ostia, connected her cult to navigation, possibly due to the myth of Venus's birth at sea. Equally fascinating were the representations of feminine power's more feared aspects. Kali, described as a manifestation of Durga's wrath, was associated with death and the creative-destructive power of time. A 2021 mixed media icon by Kaushik Ghosh depicted Kali dancing on the immobile body of Shiva, representing the union of Shakti (active force) and consciousness. Her garland of severed heads symbolized her power to destroy pride, while her hand gestures showed audacity and generosity.
A Shivalingam at the exhibition
The exhibition included a ritual ram dao (curved sword) from Nepal, dating from 1800-1940, traditionally used for animal sacrifices in Kali's honour. The eye of Kali engraved on the blade allowed her to witness the sacrifice, with the animal symbolizing the donor's pride and greed that Kali destroys out of compassion. The theme of protection wove throughout the exhibition, from ancient Egyptian amulets depicting Sekhmet or Mut breastfeeding a baby (possibly a young pharaoh) to medieval Islamic bowls designed to trap demons. A ceramic bowl from 500-800 AD Iraq was specifically made to protect a woman named Bashniray and her family from Lilith, using legal divorce terminology to order the demon to leave.
The protective aspect of feminine divine power extended to Christianity, represented through various depictions of the Virgin Mary. A mid-16th century Russian Orthodox icon known as Hodegetria ("She who shows the way") depicted Mary guiding the faithful toward Jesus and salvation. German armour from the 1540s, decorated with Mary standing on a crescent moon and holding her child, likely represented the protection the wearer believed the Virgin Mary provided.
Contemporary reflections
As the exhibition drew to a close, it posed challenging questions about contemporary interpretations of femininity. The final sections explored how cultural movements advocating for gender equality fuel debates on sex, gender, and identity. The exhibition asked whether traits associated with femininity—emotionality, sensuality— represent power or condemnation in Western society.
In a world often divided between the sacred and profane, the intellectual and sensual, this afternoon offered a rare synthesis—a reminder that the most profound cultural experiences engage all our faculties simultaneously. The exhibition's 5,000-year span of human understanding of feminine power offered a remarkable perspective on how societies have simultaneously revered and feared women throughout history.
