Culture

Although the candidature was presented by the Andorran government, there are Catalan, Spanish and French villages amongst the 63 municipalities from the Pyrenees which share the celebration of this festival. In fact its transversal nature was one of the most valuable points of the candidature, according to UNESCO's committee. On the night of the summer solstice, people carry flaming torches from the mountains to light traditionally constructed beacons. The descent is a special moment for young people, signifying the transition from adolescence to adulthood but also a time for regenerating social ties and strengthening feelings of belonging and identity. In 2010 UNESCO recognised another Catalan tradition, Catalan human towers, as one of the most genuine and unique cultural practices in Europe.

‘Fotografia a Catalunya’ compiles Catalonia’s photographic patrimony into one website. This initiative is the first of the measures set out in the Photography National Plan, approved in 2014. “This website starts to make Catalonia’s photographic patrimony visible” stated current Catalan Minister for Culture, Ferran Mascarell, and added that by launching this website “a lifelong pending issue has been sorted out”. There are 1,600 pictures from 497 different photographers already available which summarise outstanding collections from the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC), the Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) and Barcelona’s Photographic Archive, amongst many others, and the aim is to extend the offering to 15,000 by the end of next year. Catalonia’s photographic patrimony includes more than 35 million pictures, kept in more than 323 public archives, museums and other centres all over the territory.

Madonna, U2, Bjork and Kate Perry are just some of the international artists that chose Barcelona as their only stop in Spain on their international tours in 2015. During the first half of 2016, Adele and Coldplay's only tour dates in Spain will also be in Barcelona. The Catalan capital is also famous for its festivals, such as Primavera Sound, Sonar, Festival del Mil·leni and the International Jazz Festival, which attract hundreds of thousands of  people from all over the world. This Thursday, a less mass-oriented festival, Guitar BCN, announced its programme and it will also be able to count on international names. Former Oasis leader Noel Gallagher and his band High Flying Birds will be amongst them, as well as the emotional pop-rock of James Bay and the Cuban music ambassadors, Buena Vista Social Club, whom added Barcelona to the list of cities that will be part of their farewell tour. 

The exhibition 'Drawing Versailles. Charles Le Brun (1619-1690)', from the Paris Louvre Museum's collection, will be displayed in Barcelona’s CaixaForum until the 14^th of February. The exhibition shows the preliminary cartoons and sketches that painter Charles Le Brun did for the Staircase of the Ambassadors and the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. The drawings include studies of characters, allegorical figures, trophies and animals that formed part of the artist’s compositions, conceived as a great symbolic jigsaw puzzle. The Louvre Museum has 300 of these drawings and 78 of them will now be displayed in Barcelona's CaixaForum. The exhibition is the fruit of an agreement reached in 2009 between the two institutions through which many exhibitions from the Louvre can be shown in the Catalan capital. 

Catalan human towers, ‘Castellers’, celebrated Monday their fifth anniversary of their recognition by UNESCO as an element of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The ‘Castellers’ community had been awaiting the committee’s decision for years, as the candidature was first submitted in 2007. “The number of ‘Castellers’ groups has increased by 30% in the last five years, totalling 97 groups all over Catalonia”, stated ‘Castellers’ Groups Coordination president Maria Cortès, “our goal is not to reach 100 groups, but to make higher, stronger and safer ‘castells’ each time”. Cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’s top member, Raül Romeva, also attended the event, as he is also a member of a group of Castellers. “Castellers teach us that things must be done well, in an organised way and to add to each other, as everybody has their role” he declared in an interview, probably in reference to the negotiations between pro-independence forces ‘Junts Pel Sí’ and CUP.

‘Canigó’ is regarded as one of the most outstanding works in Catalan literature. The epic poem was written by the 19^th century Catalan writer and leading figure of the Catalan renaissance movement, Jacint Verdaguer. Named after Mount Canigou, the poem is set in Catalonia at the beginning of the 11^th century at the time of the Reconquista, the gradual liberation by the Christians of the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule. The poem tells the story of the young knight Gentil who left his fight against the Saracens for the love of Flordeneu, queen of the fairies. English engineer James William Millard had already published part of the poem in 2000 but ‘Mount Canigó. A tale of Catalonia’ by translator and professor at Universitat de Vic Ronald Puppo represents the first complete translation ever made. 

Barcelona's Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB) is currently hosting the 134 photographs awarded by the 'World Press Photo', one of the most important photojournalism competitions. Until the 13^th of December, visitors can view a wide range of documentary photographs portraying scenes related to issues such as the Ebola epidemic, the Ukraine crisis and the migration drama in the Mediterranean. However, one of the most outstanding pictures to be displayed in Barcelona's CCCB is Mads Nissen’s 2015 winning picture, which portrays the intimacy of a homosexual couple in Saint Petersburg, and was vetoed at the last ‘Visa pour l'Image’ festival in Perpignan due to its "excessive dramatisation". The eleventh edition of the 'World Press Photo' exhibition also includes seven winning pieces in the media category. 

‘Barcelona Catalonia Culture Week’, the first Catalan cultural week organised in Shanghai awoke the interest of 73,000 people. Coinciding with the 10^th anniversary of the Catalan Society ‘Casal Català de Xangai’ and 15 years since the twinning of Barcelona and Shanghai, China’s financial capital hosted more than 30 activities to present Catalonia’s cultural heritage to the local audience. International icons such as surrealist painter Salvador Dalíand architect Antoni Gaudíwere the centre of some of the art exhibitions. Another key point of the programme was the participation of ‘Castellers de Vilafranca’, whom displayed Catalan human towers all around the city. “This initiative introduces Catalonia to China’s collective imagination”stated the Catalan Institute of China’s President, Alexis Roig, and is the result of “a joint effort from civil society, companies and the Catalan institutions”. 

The second edition of Suite Festival, hosted and organised by Barcelona Liceu Opera House, will gather together a wide range of international artists such as Paul Anka, Johnny Hallyday, Michel Camilo and Emir Kusturica amongst others. The aim is to attract new audiences and make the Liceu “more social”, stated its General Director, Roger Guasch. Although the whole programme is still to be confirmed, Suite Festival faces into its second edition organising three more concerts than last year and with a 1.5 million euros budget, 300,000 euros more than in the first edition. The cheapest ticket will cost 15 euros and 180 euros will buy you the most expensive. To promote the opera to new and younger audiences and “break down”the barriers, Guasch assured that Liceu and Clipper, the promotion company of Suite Festival, will compare and mix their databases so that Barcelona Opera House can have as much accurate information on the attendants’profiles as possible.

The exhibition looks at the relationship between the Catalan painter, symbol of the surrealism movement, and the press. The show aims to highlight that Dalínot only published several articles in newspapers but went much further: he designed advertisements and illustrated some of his own and other colleagues’texts. ‘Dalíand Media’includes 250 pieces, most of them newspapers, magazines and printed advertisements but there are also 30 objects from Dalí’s workshop, 12 paintings and 2 original drawings. This is not the first exhibition based on the surrealist artist to be held in Shanghai. In February 2011, the Gala-Salvador Dalífoundation also organised in China’s financial capital the retrospective ‘Dalí: a genius of the XX century’. ‘Dalíand Media’has already been to other cities such as Moscow, and will be displayed in Shanghai’s Chi K11 Art Space until the 15^th of February.

The final phase of construction of the Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona has begun. In two years’ time, the six central towers will already be visible and by 2023 they will be complete, making it the tallest religious building in Europe. Barcelona’s most iconic building is expected to be completed by 2026, to coincide with the 100^th anniversary of architect Antoni Gaudí’s death. The construction work is currently focused on the transept, a room that wasn’t planned by Gaudí, and that is set to bear the weight of Jesus tower, the biggest one, which will be 172.5 m high. The transept room will also be used as a landing space for visitors before they start the ascent to the tower. Audiovisual projections showing the progress of the work on the building will also be exhibited in the transept room, which has already been set up with stone stands for visitors. The work on Sagrada Familia represents 25 million euros in annual investment and the basilica is visited by more than 3 million people every year.

From the 26^th of October to the 1^st of November, the 55 cultural amenities, including theatres, festivals and museums that take part in 'Apropa Cultura' will try to make their presence more visible. 'Apropa Cultura' is a pioneer initiative in Europe which aims to open culture to those sectors of society which are at risk, such as people with intellectual and physical disabilities, women who have fallen victim to domestic violence and people with drug addiction problems, amongst others. During this week, nearly 1,500 social organisations will hold meetings between social groups and artists during more than 200 cultural outings. For their part, the amenities involved in 'Apropa Cultura' will extend their cultural programme and make cheaper tickets available, set aside for these target groups. 

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York inaugurated this Tuesday 'Joaquín Torres-García: The Arcadian Modern', a retrospective of Torres-García's works in painting, sculpture, fresco, drawing and collage. The exhibition, composed of 190 pieces, is the first of this Catalan-Uruguayan artist to be displayed in the US in the last 45 years. One of the most renowned artworks included in the retrospective is one of the four large murals that the artist designed for the 'Saló de Sant Jordi' one of the most iconic rooms in the Catalan Government's headquarters, 'Palau de la Generalitat'. The mural has been dismantled and moved to New York especially for the occasion.  The exhibition on Torres-García is set to go to Madrid and Málaga after its run at the MoMA.

Manresa, a small city 50 kilometres away from Barcelona, will host this week host the 18th edition of 'Fira Mediterrània' ('Mediterranean Fair') a professional meeting oriented toward analysinge and improvinge the cultural sector in Catalonia. This year’s' edition will focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. Throughout the 10 sessions programmed from the 15th to the 17th of October the potentiality of culture in the social, economic, urban and communitarian areas will be discussed and the relationship between popular cultural and social actions will be analysed. The venue 'La Llotja' will also host meetings between artists and programmers, national and international companies' showcases and 200 'speed datesings', quick meetings between professionals.

A painting of Picasso’s ‘blue period’ with a hidden portrait at the back of the canvas of Picasso’s friend and patron Peter Mañach, has been presented this Friday in London for the first time in 30 years. ‘La Gommeuse’ is a portrait of a naked Parisian woman made in 1901 and the image of Mañach on the reverse was discovered only 15 years ago. Now the canvas will be auctioned at Sotheby's New York with a starting price of $60 million. The painting dates back to Picasso’s ‘blue period’ while living in Paris with Mañach. Artworks of Andy Warhol, Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh also will go under the hammer.