Interview
Barcelona
Gallery weekend 2019
This weekend from the 10th to the 13th of October, Barcelona and its gallery community welcomes residents and visitors alike to the fifth edition of its gallery weekend. It is an annual four-day event promoted by the galleries association Art Barcelona. It consists of a general programme of exhibitions in the city’s modern and contemporary art galleries and a contemporaneous programme of artistic interventions, talks, performances and happenings in public venues in Barcelona and its surroundings. It also offers guided tours (a gallery walk in tandem with ARCO) and various social events to a local and international audience.
Its stated objective is of course to promote the rich heritage and contemporary cultural life of one of the world’s great cities, but beyond that it seeks to promote art collecting as an accessible activity with its galleries providing welcoming spaces open to the citizens to facilitate it. Artland is proud to collaborate with the weekend, making Artland 3D recordings of the participating galleries accessible to a global online audience. We spoke with Barcelona Gallery Weekend Director, Susanna Corchia to find out more.
Hi Susanna, Barcelona Gallery weekend is into its fifth year now. Who was responsible for founding it and what was the main aim aside from the Art Barcelona Galleries organisation?
The event was the result of a common need shared by most of the local galleries of spotlighting and emphasizing the value of their spaces and the prominent labour of gallerists in the art production process.
How has it changed over the five editions?
Some details have changed, but the main core of the event is basically the same, the role of galleries and their commitment to the cultural scene. This is our main goal, so we always try to focus on the subject. Of course, we organize parallel programmes and several collateral activities, but we like to point out the exhibitions at galleries as the most relevant topic of our event.
How can you describe its impact on the gallery community and on the cultural scene in Barcelona generally?
Speaking in term of impact on the galleries, I am certain they have this annual appointment in mind and they try to do their best for the show. It’s also a challenge for them. Being competitive, they want to offer the most interesting exhibition, to stand out and attract collectors worldwide. Speaking of the general cultural scene of Barcelona, I must say that now the event is scheduled in the annual calendar, people expect it and follow it regularly, so we are quite happy about this achievement.
How is contemporary art regarded by the citizens of Barcelona, and do you feel that the gallery weekend is influencing how contemporary art is received by the community?
Barcelona is a very open minded and progressive contemporary city, so any kind of experimentation is very well received. By the way, at Barcelona Gallery Weekend we also have galleries showing modern art and historical vanguards.
What are the objectives for the future? How do you see the continued development of the gallery weekend and what would you like to see it become?
A big goal would be to enlarge the general audience. Art is still considered something elitist. We have a long way to go, doing a lot of pedagogy, using imagination to attract people, improve communication, etc. The list of homework is very long. I think gallery weekend format has a big potential and we already have some fresh ideas for the next edition 2020.
Thanks for taking the time to chat. We know you have a lot to do to get ready! We are glad to collaborate with you and we can definitely help with this key objective, sharing the exhibitions of your wonderful city with our audience and with a global online community of collectors and art lovers. Good luck Susanna.