European cultural biennial Manifesta 15 to bring 'social change' to Barcelona metro area

Manifesta 15, the European Nomadic Biennial, will take place in Barcelona and eleven surrounding municipalities in the metropolitan area. 

This year's edition is decentralized and will be a self-proclaimed 'incubator for social change'. 

This cultural biennial will show urban interventions and artistic programs from September 8 to November 24 in twelve different cities across 16 venues. The "largest geographical scope in the history of the biennial," Hedwig Fijen, Manifesta 15 director, said during a press conference. 

The main topics of these exhibitions will be "imagining futures," "care and be cared for," and "balancing conflicts." These three topics will also be divided geographically. 

"Imagining futures" will be based between Barcelona, Sant Adrià del Besòs, and Badalona, at Les Tres Xemeneies. 

The monastery of Sant Cugat will be the base of the topic "care and be cared for," and Casa Gomis in Prat del Llobregat will see the theme "balancing conflicts."

The aim of the biennial being spread to various places is to "rethink the role that areas outside the historic centers have" and to explore how to improve the relationships between the metropolitan area of Barcelona.  

"How artistic intervention can energize social-ecological transformation. That's the basic thing we have been trying to investigate. And by doing so, we are looking at Europe through the eyes of this region and the challenges we are facing," Fijen added. 

There will be multidisciplinary works by more than 90 creators, with the intention of expanding the comprehension of "how people have relationships between each other and with natural resources." 

The regular ticket price is €15, with various discounts available online. 

The ticket grants access to all venues, both ticketed and non-ticketed, for the entire biennial. The ticketed venues are The Three Chimneys, Monastery of Sant Cugat and Casa Gomis.