Habemus gallery listings!

Barcelona inaugurates the 2013–14 season with new signage and gallery map. The itinerary, presented yesterday to the media, suggests a route from west to east of the city, from Montjuïc's Fundació Miró to Sant Andreu's Fabra & Coats - Centre d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, via most of the contemporary art galleries that concentrate in the city centre. Besides the online and physical map, visitors will find two-metre high poles crowned with a pill (galleries marked in pink; museums, foundations and art centres in blue) placed at the entrances of each venue offering additional information (via QR codes and contactless device) about the adjunct venue (exact address, opening hours, website). 

Promoted by Art Barcelona (Gallery Association of Contemporary Art) the 240,000 Euro initiative maps out 26 galleries and 11 art centre locations as well as a calendar of events and openings, both in English (30,000 copies have been printed) and Catalan (20,000 copies) updated quarterly. On a second phase there will be a mobile app with additional information on the artists and programming.



Although the map is quite comprehensive, it is a shame that after years of waiting for an initiative of this kind that matches that of cities such London, Berlin, New York, Amsterdam or Glasgow, to only mention a few, other Barcelona galleries such as etHALL, production and studio facilities like Hangar, artist-run and independent spaces such as Halfhouse, Homesession or A*Desk amongst others, are not represented in the listings. Neither are city or government-funded spaces such as Sala d'Art Jove, Can Felipa or Sant Andreu Contemporani. Adding them to the 'official' map (which is part-funded by the city and the Catalan regional government) would not only help in offering a more textured panorama of the city locating private and public spaces but would also instigate a much-needed generosity from top-down and show the city willingness to share its promotional tools.

On a final note, it is perhaps curious that Arts Santa Mònica [formerly the Centre d'Art Santa Mònica (CASM)] is missing. Yet as the new General Director of Creativity and Cultural Companies Jordi Sellas, recently announced the reorientation of its programming to become "a centre of activity more than an exhibition space" (...) "a radar for new cultural tendencies", it is perhaps a final confirmation that what used to be Barcelona's kunstverein is no longer recognisable as a venue of contemporary art (see this blog post). 

Downloadable map with suggested routes here.

Programming here. Includes addresses, listings and forthcoming openings and events.

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Entre el 9 y el 13 Mayo, Latitudes impartirá el seminario 'Prácticas curatoriales. Sobre los distintos formatos de las prácticas curatoriales'. Organizado por A*Desk, A*Study es un programa de estudios de Noviembre a Junio enfocado en la introducción y el desarrollo profesional en el ámbito del arte contemporáneo.

Durante el seminario se analizarán distintos formatos curatoriales que han tenido lugar desde los años sesenta de la mano de comisarios y artistas, aunque se concentrará especialmente en la producción de la última década a partir casos de estudio de carácter transversal e internacional. Asimismo, se investigarán los retos y los conflictos que afrontan instituciones, artistas, comisarios y el público.



El seminario se iniciará con la proyección del documental 'Friendly Enemies' (2010, 54', inglés), realizado por la comisaria holandesa Danila Cahen. Filmado durante la preparación, montaje e inauguración de la 9ª Bienal de Estambul en 2005, Cahen aprovecha el work-in-process de este evento para entrevistar a profesionales del arte contemporáneo sobre la relación entre el comisario y el artista y para intentar definir el rol que ambos juegan en la práctica curatorial. A través de material de archivo y entrevistas a comisarios como Saskia Bos, Charles Esche, Alex Farquharson, Vasif Kortun, Gerardo Mosquera, o artistas como Hüseyin Alptekin, Yael Bartana, Pavel Büchler, Daniel Buren, Dan Perjovschi (entre otros) se recuperan momentos importantes en la historia de las exposiciones que intentan analizar y definir la cambiante labor del comisario y su relación con el artista.



A*Desk
Carrer de Tagamanent, 9
08012 Barcelona

Agradecemos a Danila Cahen por dejarnos compartir su documental con fines educativos.

The news broke on Saturday afternoon that Manuel J. Borja-Villel (Burriana, Castellón, 1957) will be the new Artistic Director of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), and will start his new job at the end of January 2008. Borja-Villel has been Director of the Museu d'Art Contemporani Barcelona (MACBA) since 1998, and was founding director of the Fundació Tàpies (1990-1998). Despite his appointment not being a shock exactly, the news is important as it is one of the first appointments in Spain to follow the controversial 'Código de buenas prácticas' (Code of good practice) whereby there shouldn't be any more 'al dedo' ('made') appointments. Instead an international call for applications should be held, and was in this case, and appointments be made according to the decision of a selected international committee. And following each candidate's proposals and presentations, and not their political orientation.

That said, the decision to appoint the MACBA director has not been surprising for two reasons. Firstly, a few weeks ago the Spanish newspaper El País [15.11.07] announced Borja-Villel as the favourite for the job, together with a list of the top candidates. How were their names known when the process is supposedly strictly secret? Rightly, there was much discussion in the artistic community [read A-Desk and SalonKritik]. Secondly, the requirements for the job were that candidates should be a 'Spanish or national of a country member of the European Union' (appearing to rule out any Spanish-speaking Latin American candidates, or indeed any other non-European Spanish speaker, and clearly questioning the tip-off that had Dan Cameron shortlisted in the El País article). The candidates were also asked to have 'Excellent level of Spanish' and 'To present, in Spanish or anyone of the co-official languages in the Independent Communities, or English or French, the main lines of the Museum Plan for the Institution'. Spanish prefered, we get it. It makes one wonder what will be the requirements for the now vacant MACBA Director job, if they are to follow the 'código de buenas prácticas' with an open call.

One of the first responses to the appointment was from art critic and curator David G. Torres in A-Desk's blog, in which he briefly analysed the pros and cons of the mandate: Borja-Villel has put MACBA on the map – for sure – and has given a direction and coherence to its collection – again, yes – but it has lacked a dialogue with the city of Barcelona and its visitors. According to Catalina Serra [El País, 23.12.07], the Catalan arts community has already responded by demanding an international open call for the MACBA position, but with more time for the potential applicants to prepare proposals (candidates had a month to make their applications for the MNCARS job). Let's see what happens here; interesting times ahead! The news are, however, great for MNCARS, Spain's forever-in-crisis national museum, which has had no leading figure since September 2007, that lacks coherence in its collection, has a so-so programme, but of course holds a precious treasure in world history: Picasso's Guernica.

For more info read MNCARS' Press Release (Spanish) and the announcement in El País (23.12.07)