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Manifesta 15

From the 8th of September to the 24th of November 2024, Manifesta 15, the European Nomadic Biennial, comes to the metropolitan region of Barcelona for its 15th edition.

Through artistic interventions in prominent historical venues and industrial sites never before opened to the public, Manifesta 15 seeks to decentralise the cultural infrastructure of Barcelona and its surrounding cities.

About

Manifesta 15 aims to reshape the relations between art, culture and society by investigating and catalysing socio-ecological change. All whilst being in continuous dialogue with both local communities and international cultural producers.

Due to its nomadic nature, each edition finds itself in a new locality every two years because it is invited by a Host City. In Manifesta 15’s case, the Bid was written by the Barcelona City Council and supported by 11 cities in the metropolitan region: Badalona, Cornellà de Llobregat, El Prat de Llobregat, Granollers, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Mataró, Sabadell, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Sant Cugat del Vallès and Terrassa.

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Casa Gomis, 2024. Photo © Manifesta 15 / Helena Roig

Casa Gomis is a Modernist villa designed by Antoni Bonet Castellana for Ricardo Gomis Serdañons and his wife Inés Bertrand Mata located next to a lagoon called La Ricarda. Built between 1949 and 1963, the residential property has a storied past and an uncertain future. While it was still functioning as a private home, it doubled as an alternative cultural centre. Casa Gomis sits in the Llobregat Delta Nature Reserve, which borders the Barcelona-El Prat Airport, aligning perfectly with the cluster theme of Balancing Conflicts. During Manifesta 15, it will be a home for artistic perspectives on sustainability and modernisation.

Towards Manifesta 15

There are many reasons that explain why Manifesta was invited to help to incubate change in the region. In the past years, numerous factors have impacted the urban development of Barcelona. These include: the fast gentrification of the coastline and natural areas, the use of land for real estate development, the introduction of the Super Block model and the use of land for industrial transformation. City expansion is limited due to the natural barriers of the rivers, the sea and the mountains. However, rural and/or protected land are at risk because of the expansion of economic developments.

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The Bid for Manifesta in Barcelona was also driven by the city’s commitment to cultural decentralisation. Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana aims to build new ways for social and artistic communities to connect with local infrastructures. It seeks to shift cultural attention to the city’s outskirts and neighbouring areas, fostering collaboration between the metropolitan cities. Manifesta, known for its nomadic nature, emphasises creating site-specific structures that focus on local voices and memories, supported by extensive research in host cities two years prior to the biennial.

Join us for a 12-week programme featuring projects, interventions, events and talks across 12 cities, with more than 90 local and international participants.

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