The Barcelona neighborhood of Poblenou once again shows its creative fabric, this time taking advantage of the Open Day & Night – 12h Non Stop organized by the Poblenou Urban District.
The different spaces grouped in the Poblenou Urban District opened their doors offering cultural activities such as exhibitions, workshops and performances on 17 October.
The Simón 100 space shines with its own light
One of the places that opened its doors to the public was the Espacio Simón 100. The company dedicated to the world of lighting has a showroom where light is the main focus. On this occasion, for the edition of Poblenou Open Day & Night, the Windows Art Circuit was transformed into WAC LAB, an event organised by Poblenou Urban District in the space provided by the venue partner Simon. WAC LAB was conceived as an artists’ residence, that is, a lab that started on October 13th and ended with the open day within the Poblenou Open Day & Night. WAC LAB was conceived as an artists’ residence, that is, a lab that started on October 13th and ended with the open day within the Poblenou Open Day & Night.
More than 23 artists turned this warehouse in the Poblenou Urban District into a large canvas provided by the walls to create their works. As in the case of Teo Vázquez, who honoured the neighbourhood with a tribute to El Sardina, the last fisherman of the Poblenou neighbourhood.
The mural “El Sardina, the last fisherman in the neighborhood” by Teo Vázquez @teo_vazquez
And Lara Gombau with the work “Crida” @laragombau
The multidisciplinary project by BeatMe Lab combined mural painting, video mapping and LED lighting. The work creates a dreamlike landscape with an oracle of light at its centre. At the sides are 12 polyhedral shapes that point to the centre of the work.
The presence of the pandemic
Confinement and the pandemic were also present in the works, Diego Cáceres, with paintings bordering on the abstract, helped him to “combat the uncertainty and unease caused by confinement”. For her part, Lara Gombau, with the work “Crida”, reflected “impotence, anxiety, rage, fear“. A mixture of feelings that are not easy to identify in the face of an unknown situation”.
The work of Concreto Streetart @creto_ums “Stay Afloat” and the drawing of Cane @theartofcane “Eat Shit, Die Fast”
The work Interdimensional Gateway by the artists Alessiainart & Beta is a gateway connecting one area of the Multiverse with another, an entrance to another dimension in which several realities are compressed, a focus of energy and light.
Alessia Innocenti @alessiainart and Sandra Betancort @betanprismas creators of “Portal”
After almost two months of quarantine, Ona, wanted to represent the desire to go out and paint, although she points out:
“I am still planted in my house or in my pot. Even if you respect all the sanitary measures, you have to stay in the pot. But I do it in a good mood”.
Mural of Ona @_ona_barcelona
Urban Talks, a rich debate on the challenges of brands today
In the same Espacio Simon 100 but on the upper floor ‘Planta Fluvià’, the art gallery and production studio La Plataforma together with the communication agency Life In The Woods studio organised the Urban Talks, a series of three round tables where they contributed their proposals and points of view. They were not open to the public and their retransmission, which can be recovered, was in streaming through the Youtube channel of Poblenou Urban District..
Second round table with Alex Nikolov from Loom Collective, Albert Salinas from Lapsus and Rosa Fernández from Dice.
The first of these was entitled “brands, new audiences and honesty” and was moderated by Frankie Pizá, Creative Director of Primavera Sound. The three guests were Raquel Vieira from Lacoste, Freddy Cardenas from Nike and Kai Landré, artist and member of the Cyborg Foundation.
In this colloquium, Raquel Vieira stressed that in these times “it is necessary to make some adjustments, to prepare for a change that involves associating with small collectives” and Kai Landré added that it is necessary to “listen to the people and look for new ways of using resources”.
The importance of a brand identity
One of the main themes was brand identity and brand values. Vieira stated that a brand “must contribute to the community, as well as being ethical and credible, as social responsibility is a way to compete… Furthermore, when associating with an artist, the values that characterise the artist must be taken into account”.
Brands and influencers
After this, there was a debate on the figure of influencers, and what their relationship with brands should be like. Landré stressed that “if someone close to you tells you about a brand, it is more credible“. The moderator introduced the figure of the rapper Kanye West as a “politically incorrect” influencer who makes actions that go completely against the brand he represents. To which Freddie Cardenas added that “brands do not control influencers and sometimes they have so much notoriety that they are above it”.
Regarding the approach of brands in the digital era, Cardenas argued that “we should not ignore the virtual world. Nor should you be obvious when it comes to showing commercial content, without underestimating the user’s perception. You have to be timely, not opportunistic“.
Rethinking festivals
The second of the roundtables, also moderated by Frankie Pizá, addressed how festivals and big events should face an uncertain future conditioned by the evolution of the pandemic. The round table was made up of Alex Nikolov from Loom Collective, Albert Salinas from Lapsus and Rosa Fernández from Dice.
During the months of hiatus, Albert Salinas highlights the disorganisation that has been experienced. “Something that is beyond our reach has made us stop, which has led to disorganisation and even crossed some red lines for the artists“.
In turn, the current situation has led them to raise the debate about what a festival is, that they are “channels of communication and socialisation rather than a congregation around a cultural artefact”. Around this reflection, Salinas questioned whether “you are really interested in the content or do you like to share the experience with people“.
As for online content, Alex Nikolov said it led to a “devaluation of the culture and perception of what is online is free. Salinas added that “there were so many free streamings that nobody gave them value. This is why we have to be didactic with people and make them see that there are people who make a living from it.
The transformation of the territory through art
The third and last round table discussed art in the public space from different perspectives. As moderator was Arcadi Poch and the guests were the artist Francsico de Pájaro (Art is Trash), Xavier Ballaz and Ana Manaia (B-Murals – Difusión and Jordi Montanyà (Institut Municipal del Paisatge Urbà i la Qualitat de Vida).
Most interesting was the debate on how to deal with art in public space. Whether all artists should be allowed to make their works in urban space and furniture or if on the contrary it should be regulated. Jordi Montanyà argued that space should be neutral. It should act like the “architect” who wants “his constructions to remain as I designed them, as they act as technicians and limit themselves to applying the rules. In some cases, politicians have skirted the rules, causing art to appear in public space in an uncontrolled manner”.
In a completely opposite position was the artist Francisco de Pájaro, who uses rubbish to create his art. De Pájaro argued that the city “is made of lies, of plastic and that the politicians were looking for their economic interests” .
An uncertain future
The pandemic has accelerated a process of change that affects society as a whole. Within society, brands and art have had to face restrictions on the population’s consumption. Art, for its part, has benefited from the time artists spent at home to enrich itself and reach more people through social networks.
The efforts of festival promoters face the uncertainty of not knowing when they will return to a pre-pandemic normality. In the meantime, they will have to rethink their models so as not to stop organising cultural events that are a benefit to both those who make a living from it and those who consume it..
In the case of brands, the fact that they approached the consumer during the pandemic and adapted to the situation has allowed them to readapt more or less satisfactorily to the current situation, thus generating a better image and customer loyalty.
