We’re back to blogging after our former internet provider left us without connection for almost a month, during which time we repeatedly saw ourselves as Enjuto Mojamuto in the worst day of his life. But we won’t bore you with these everyday miseries and will take advantage of the delay to briefly review some of the latest movements that have taken place in the Barcelona cultural scene, or rather, we may bore you with another type of misery…
Firstly, after the Borja-Villel affair, the rumor of the moment is the alleged closure of the Centre d’Art Santa Mònica. Some say that the rumor is actually a “trial balloon” to see how the staff reacts. How twisted!
On the other hand, a program that rises from its ashes: the program dedicated to contemporary art that Francesc Ruiz directed from the Centre Cívic de Sant Andreu will be managed by David Armengol and Pilar Cruz, including the Premi Miquel Casablancas which has been an excellent platform for promoting young artists (and curators) in the city. From here, our congratulations to David and Pilar (albeit belatedly).
Another piece of news that caught us offline is the announcement of the opening in 2009 of a macro-center for cultural production in the old Fabra & Coats factory complex (also in Sant Andreu) which includes a school of the arts (music, theater-circus, dance and visual arts), incubators for cultural projects promoted by “young entrepreneurs”, studios for musical and audiovisual projects and rehearsal rooms for performing arts and movement, as well as a residence for artists. Despite the apparent goodness of the news, we will have to see how this equipment is actually managed before celebrating.
More things: although an international competition has finally been called to choose the future director of the MACBA, the idea persists that Bartomeu Marí will be the successor to the position, in a monarchical style.
And finally, though no less importantly, as they say, Marc Vives has left the staff of YP to dedicate himself body and soul to art. We wish him the best of luck.
Ah! and, indeed, the zombies of 28 weeks later are not ‘zombies’, they are ‘infected’.