An independent research space concerning contemporary issues. This is neither a formal academic publication nor an opinion column: it is analytical work supported by data on topics I consider relevant and worthy of rigorous examination, even when they fall outside specialised academic circuits. Open to co-authorship. Proposals to: hola@juanesteban.art
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Entries: 246
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From manga to a drawing style of your own: when influence stops being copying
Learning to draw often begins with copying. A Barcelona-based author who draws manga for Kodansha, a Spanish author, and a study on learning through imitation. What can be concluded, and what cannot.
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Who purchases art with public funds: the missing standard
When a public museum acquires a work, it incorporates heritage, executes expenditure and grants institutional recognition.
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Before the prompt: genealogies of the artistic interface
Generative artificial intelligence has imposed a short chronology.
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How many young people read comics and manga: what the data says and what is missing
In the United Kingdom, 40.3% of young people aged 8 to 18 read comics every month. In Spain, 14.3% of the population aged 14 or over reads comics at least every quarter, and the report includes an age-based chart that requires direct interpretation. Three studies that do not...
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The comic market in Spain: volume of publications and domestic output
In 2025, 4,542 distinct commercial comics were distributed in Spain. Of the 711 nationally published works, 472 were first editions, and the report estimates that 85% of what is consumed is imported material. What the Tebeosfera Report covers, what it omits, and the revenue generated by the comic industry.
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The institution retains: archive, authorship and power after participation
Upon conclusion, the institution retains recordings, photographs, contacts, metadata, methodologies and public legitimacy.
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Value without an author is not surplus: labour, capture and infrastructure in generative work
The law has advanced a relatively stable response regarding the authorship of results generated through artificial intelligence systems: without sufficient human creative contribution, there is no work protected as a creation of its user.
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Cultural prescribing in Spain: what we know and what is missing
Cultural prescribing connects an individual with artistic, heritage or community activities through referral and support.
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Cultural mediation sustains access, yet it remains absent from the data
When an institution speaks of accessibility, education or participation, a decisive portion of the work is performed by those who prepare visits, adapt explanations, accompany groups, translate codes and respond to unforeseen situations.
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Edinburgh and the studio-based degrees: the limits of an elective
The University of Edinburgh will cease to admit students from 2027 to three Edinburgh College of Art degree programmes: Performance Costume, Textiles, and Jewellery and Silversmithing.