The holiday season is slowly coming to an end, but there is no end to culture, festivals and exhibitions. We discover 7 art highlights to enjoy in September.
We are back again with our seven recommendations, this time, 7 art highlights to enjoy in September. Open-air festivals are very welcome and eagerly awaited throughout the year. For this month, Gavà Mar is expecting the Misonny Art Festival, bringing together art, music and high quality gastronomy. In addition, the presence of NFT technology will be present at this fair and at the exhibition Dalí Cibernètic at Ideal Barcelona. On the other hand, the Parisian festival Omnivore highlights gastronomic sustainability at the Parc Floral de Paris, and from The Design Museum sustainability in the fashion industry. We continue with the names of leading figures such as Balenciaga and its connection with the photographer Tom Kublin. The Metrograph Theater offers the public a cinematographic journey, connecting fashion and cinema. Finally, Brussels Gallery Weekend celebrates its 15th edition.
Gavà Mar fills up with NFT technology at the Misonny festival
This summer saw the second edition of the Misonny Art Festival, a European event that unites the metaverse, art and a wide diversity of exhibitions. Last year’s inauguration achieved excellent results from the public and the artists. And for that reason, this year, 2022, it is back for a double return. In July, the festival was hosted in Mas Sorrer, while in September it is expected in Gavà Mar.
The connection with technology is what makes it an innovative festival, as it recreates the space and the works, offering the opportunity to be an active participant through virtual reality glasses. All this in an open-air environment, surrounded by nature, combining the magic of young artists who project a good future with electrifying music and exquisite gastronomy. The exclusive restaurant chosen was Catalina Restaurant, a small venue surrounded by sea and trees. In addition, as for foodtrucks, you can enjoy the cuisine of Piel de Gallina.
From left to right: The Mexican artist with her work Multiverses, her successful painting that she has already exhibited at Mas Sorrer. Juliana Plexxo finishing painting her mural Latin America live. For the artist, art allows her to express her emotions with ease, and with this work she represents the cultural range of the Latin American peoples.
During the days of the festival, as well as being able to see the paintings on display, there are also talks, workshops and activities. The proximity to the artists is also a very valuable point, as the reciprocal gaze of art lovers enriches the visions of the creators. The guest line-up includes works by Guillermo Lorca, currently exhibiting at the Museo Moco, the Turkish artist Ümit Sural, the painter Jacob Vilató, Picaso’s great-nephew, and Martha Saenz, a Mexican painter who managed to bring her work NFT to Times Square. In addition, music must always be present, as the energy it transmits is life. That is why Lucrecia Gil Tapia of Lírica Guay, Eli Kapowski and Mr. B will be performing.
When: 2 to 4 September 2022
Where: Gavà Mar, Barcelona
Tickets: You can buy tickets here
The Design Museum hosts an exhibition about the ecological transition that does not forget creativity in design.
In recent years, the natural wear and tear and the lack of resources are so evident that more and more people are becoming aware of it. The planet needs to breathe and society must change its habits and working methods. In the world of fashion, reused fabrics are increasingly present, and it is important to show how innovative new designs can be with fabrics that have already had a life. To this end, The Design Museum is hosting the exhibition Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems.
Throughout the exhibition, and as part of the Designers thinking in public programme, the social vindication conveyed through the designs can be captured. Encouraging the critical spirit, reflecting on reuse and the benefits that society would gain in the present and in the future. Williams’ designs are not only shown through garments, but also through films and photographs. Priya Khanchandani, curator of the exhibition, reflects on the potential and creativity that comes from designers to improve our environment;
Bethany Williams’ work fuses streetwear style with handcrafted forms that are linked to human values. I see it as a great example of socially produced designs that aim to improve our planet.
Look Book from the All Our Stories collection. Photo by Christina Ebenezer
These kinds of exhibition proposals try to reach empathy and full awareness of the changes that need to be introduced in such a consumerist society. These new forms of work, promoting craftsmanship, are carried out in a minority way, but they are present. For example, small companies that prefer to connect with and protect the environment are committed to offering sustainable and cloth products to babies and women. Industrial nappies and sanitary towels are not only harmful to the planet, they can also cause skin irritation.
When: Until 4 September 2022
Where: 224-238, Kensington High St, London, United Kingdom
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday 10.00h – 18.00h. Friday and Saturday 10am to 9pm.
Tickets: You can buy tickets here
Digitally immersed in Dalí’s mind at l’Ideal Barcelona
The most renowned works of Salvador Dalí will once again be a meeting point at the Centre d’Arts Digitals IDEAL on 20 September, with the exhibition Dalí cibernètic. But on this occasion, the exhibition will offer visitors a totally digital journey, experiencing, with freedom of movement, the metaverse for 15 minutes of the hour and a half that the experience lasts. In the 2,000 square metre space, Dalí’s surrealist world will be revealed through large projections, interactive installations, holograms, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The latter is the key element that will give the visit the necessary magic that will transport visitors to a universe that is unique and customisable. .
Wearing the characteristic VR glasses, each visitor will have the opportunity to adapt their digital avatar, and walk, together with their companions, inside the stories created by the Catalan artist. In this way, the surrealist universe that can be seen on the canvases can be experienced inside them. A journey that will allow one to submerge and experience the sea, the sky, the desert and the void. This connection between art and technology has not been new for a couple of years, as Salvador Dalí himself already used the first computers to push the limits of reality. In fact, as a young man he was convinced that in the future, within art, there would be revolution and changes, but impossible to imagine at that time;
Visitors will be able to see on a large scale major works by Dalí such as The Persistence of Memory
The IDEAL team, together with the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, have been working in detail on the preparation of the works on display. Cataloguing and collecting the contents that will be shown throughout the immersion. They have also discovered practically unpublished documentation of the artist and his creative thought. In this way, they guarantee an activity with a high level of innovation and curiosity. The exhibition, curated by Imma Fondevila and Anna Pou, already has an international tour planned for the next four years, taking Dalí to more than 30 cities, including Manchester, Zurich and Cologne. In addition, they are also working hard to cross oceans, in order to reach America and Asia-Pacific regions.
When: From 20 September
Where: Calle del Rr. Carrer del Rr. Trueta, 196-198, Barcelona
Opening hours: Wednesday to Monday from 10.00h to 18.00h
Tickets: You can buy tickets here
American fashion crosses screens in The Metrograph
The art of fashion and cinema come together between screens and seats at The Metrograph Theater with the project An Anthology of Cinema. A cinematic journey that projects, thanks to nine films, the connection between American clothes, culture and personality. This set of viewings are not just nine films, as they are part of the exhibition In America: An Anthology of Fashion shown at The Met..
The adaptation The Portrait of a Lady is the first and the first film that visitors will be able to enjoy. Set at the end of the 19th century, director Jane Campion was able to convey the norms and rules of the time, with the presence of women as the main element.
At the beginning of May, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, offered visitors a tour among garments from the 19th and 20th centuries. Showing a wide variety of designs ranging from classical to domestic, everyday garments. All of them with a story behind them, carrying a personal culture and ideology. Linking each element through film stills produced by American film directors. The doors of the exhibition at The Met will close on 5 September, but that is where The Metrograph appears, in charge of continuing to bring to the screens the mythical projections that inspired the guest filmmakers.
Janicza Bravo, one of the guest directors, staged a Gothic renaissance library in the Anthology of fashion exhibition. As for the film she selected for inclusion in the Metrograph programme, Ten minutes to live was chosen. Photo: Anna-Marie Kellen
Chloé Zhao, Martin Scorsese, Julie Dash, Sofia Coppola, Janiza Bravo and Radha Blank, when contributing their work to the shows, drew on sequences that have inspired them throughout their careers. For example, Scorsese has always been gripped by John Stahl’s adaptation of Leave Her to heaven. Meanwhile, Coppola connected with The Age of Innocence to imagine how New York society lived in the 19th century;
Andrew Bolton has stated that the film The Fountainhead was one of the inspirations as, during the exhibition at the Met, Charles James’ designs were combined with Frank Lloyd Wright’s period room.
Andrew Bolton, Wendy Yu curator in charge of the Met’s Costume Institute has acknowledged that film remains a connector between fashion and American stereotypes. Moreover, the magic of film, showing revolutionary garments of the past, is still a legacy of the designs and designers who shone a few decades ago. we keep reminding ourselves that the patterns and ideas created in the middle of the last century are still references for the fashion of the future.
When: 2-11 September 2022
Where: 7 Ludlow St, New York, USA
Tickets: You can buy tickets here
Brussels Gallery Weekend celebrates 15 years as a reference for young artists
The Brussels Gallery Weekend celebrates its 15th edition giving contemporary art to the capital of the Belgian country. On this occasion, 47 galleries will take part during the week, bringing together more than 100 artists. In addition, as a novelty, the main venue will be moved to a former printing plant in the heart of Brussels. A space of 20,000 square metres where large-scale works will be perfectly displayed. For example, the DYS Gallery will exhibit a ten-metre tapestry by KRJST Studio hanging from the ceiling, or different sculptures by artists such as Rafa Macarrón or Maria Zahle. On the other hand, it will also be available for talks, performances and projects.
The Félix Frachon Gallery will be present with the artist Nandita Kumar, an author who works on the insertion of technologies in art.
The Generation Brussels space, launched five years ago, is once again present at the art fair. Showing in detail twelve artists who are gradually making a name for themselves in the art world through their work. One of them was the Prix Centre/Komett award winner, receiving it on the last day of the fair. The legacy of Brussels as a reference point for the Gallery Weekend, provides facilities for young people who are entering this world. And the festival’s management recognises this;
Thanks to its location and the vitality of the local scene, Brussels plays a prominent role in the contemporary art world, and we seek to promote the city’s influence in a spirit of sharing. This is why we are piloting the Art Across Europe project, forging links between European art scenes, in collaboration with cities such as Zurich, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Madrid and Milan. – comments Sybille du Roy de Blicquy, director of Brussels Gallery Weekend.
From left to right: Schönfeld Gallery will be exhibiting a myriad of hand-woven threads. Shen Ozdemir with his work Akra
These art exhibitions, so internationally recognised, never cease to inspire confidence and curiosity. Painting the streets of the city with works that are not known but that attract to know about them. Moreover, they have the aim of transmitting confidence to the younger generations. That is why, in order to connect with them, the fair collaborates with the youth centre L’avenir to visit art galleries throughout the year. In fact, the group of young people has created a work and it will be exhibited at Generation Brussels. The NFT will also be present thanks to a partnership with the PINSL platform.
When: 8-11 September 2022
Where: Brussels, Belgium
Hours: Thursday from 11.00h to 21.00h. Friday and Saturday from 11.00h to 19.00h. Sunday from 11.00h to 18.00h.
Tickets: You can buy tickets here
Gastronomic sustainability is being promoted from Parisian soil
Every year at the beginning of September, the city of Paris welcomes Omnivore Food Festival, a gastronomic fair that aims to promote sustainability. During the 3 days, and surrounded by the Floral Park of Paris, the more than 150 guests and their teams will present how to connect with food in the most natural way possible. Visitors will be able to explore the different sections of Omnivore: the grande scène, the scène artisan, the scène talks and scène liquide. Chefs and pastry chefs will give classes, while many others will hold talks on the art of cooking.
This year’s event will be held with the aim of seeking technical innovations and responsible models for learning and maintaining a healthier future. To this end, the selection of chefs who can provide this knowledge to the public has been a relevant element. Professional chefs such as Alexandre Gauthier, Ana Ros, Niko Romito or Thomas Graham will talk about the connection with the earth, how much we need it and the limits that must not be exceeded. The figure of the African continent is enhanced by the fact of survival and its closer connections with nature.
Throughout the park visitors can enjoy small food and drink stalls. Choosing wines and craft beers and natural juices.
New for this 17th edition, there will also be 50 French and international breweries, most of them craft breweries. As well as the Paris Coffee Show section, for coffee lovers. There will also be a special space for those who connect with artisan products, highlighting the joint work between those who plant and harvest and those who bring the products to the plate;
When: 10-12 September 2022
Where: Rte de la Pyramide, Paris, France
Time: Saturday from 10.00h to 19.00h. Sunday from 10am to 7pm. Monday from 10.00h to 18.30h.
Tickets: You can buy tickets here
Balenciaga’s couture captured through Tom Kublin’s camera.
The Cristobal Balenciaga Museum unites photography and fashion with the exhibition Tom Kublin for Balenciaga. An unusual collaboration. An exhibition comprising more than a hundred images and five film excerpts, all of them from the production of the photographer Kublin on the Basque designer. Throughout the tour, through the images, you can see designs made with Abraham silk, supplier of the Alta Couture of the French capital. In addition, Kublin’s daughter, Maria, also made photographic collections, and for the first time they are shown publicly. In fact, Maria Kublin, together with Ana Balda, are the curators of the exhibition.
Autumn-winter dress, 1958. Cristóbal Balenciaga had a gift for enhancing the female figure splendidly. Detail and elegance were reflected in his garments, and Tom Kublin knew how to capture this in his photographs.
After the Second World War, Tom Kublin emigrated from Hungary to Zurich where, by opening his first photographic studio, he introduced himself to couture, portraying it through his camera. In the mid-1950s, the two artists met. Connecting personally and professionally, they came to occupy magazine mastheads embellished with portraits of Balenciaga’s designs. Transmitting taste, elegance and exquisiteness. Moreover, over the years, filming techniques evolved, and movement was also experienced by Kublin. For example, the Hungarian artist filmed the advertisement for Balenciaga’s Le Dix perfume.
From left to right: December, 1963 and autumn-winter, 1958. In order to protect its copyright, Balenciaga kept the photographs taken by Kublin with the models posing with the number of the design.
The power and importance of Cristóbal Balenciaga was also reflected in the publication of his designs in the press. The selection of the models to be published was the duty of the publishers, as was the choice of photographer. But Balenciaga already independently provided its selection of models to be shown, in addition to the figure of Kublin behind the camera. Thus, with the collaboration between the Balenciaga Archives in Paris, the Swiss National Museum and the Museum of Design Zurich, the evolution of Tom Kublin alongside Balenciaga is highlighted. Visitors are shown the importance of photography in highlighting the Spanish designer’s brand;
When: From June 10 to October 16, 2022
Where: Aldamar Parkea, 6, Getaria, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country
Opening times: Tuesday to Sunday from 11.00h to 19.00h. Closed on Mondays
Tickets: You can buy tickets here
Images provided by Misonny Art Festival, The Design Museum, Centre d’Arts Digitals IDEAL, The Metrograph, Brussels Gallery Weekend, Omnivore, Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga
