Catalonia is a land of giants and big heads. Therefore, it is not surprising that these folkloric emblems become the protagonists of a popular event as long-awaited as the Night of the Museums, which this Saturday celebrated its 16th edition. If last year the Visca Picasso! troupe, based on the pictograph of the Malaga painter, went out to dance despite the rain; Today it was the great figures designed by Eudald Ferré, inspired by the drawings of the young people from the Casal dels Infants del Raval, that evaded the skaters and brought a smile to the people of Barcelona and all those curious who came to the Plaza dels angels
It was in the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (Macba), on the balcony and in the interiors, where the action that was part of Jordi Colomer’s exhibition Façana Foto Festa Futur Fideus took place. Children and adults have attentively followed the dialogue of dances and gralla, including a girl who at first burst into tears when she saw beings five times her size, but who ended up saying goodbye to them when they left. An hour later, actress Laura Weismahr passed through the play Join Us! reciting a Kafka monologue in different languages.
The number of people who have gathered there is another example of the citizens’ interest in knowing the samples and other treasures of the different museums, not only in the city of Barcelona and the metropolitan area, but from all over the world, since the The event coincides on the calendar with International Museum Day, something that has not happened for five years. In total, 87 cultural spaces, which have offered more than 171 activities, have been able to be visited from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. A good opportunity to enjoy, for free, some of the great exhibitions that are currently on display, such as the one that the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) dedicates to the painter Suzanne Valadon; the aforementioned Colomer at Macba or Miquel Barceló at La Pedrera, among many others.
“We plan to maintain the same numbers as last years, around 100,000 visitors, although we must take into account that this edition falls in the middle of a bridge,” said Jaume Muñoz, director of Memoria, shortly before the party began. History and Heritage of the Institute of Culture, which recalled the four new additions this year: the Center Martorell d’Expositions, the Museu Terra, the Roman wall preserved inside the Sínia Occupational Center and the Museu de l’Art Prohibit.
In the latter, visitors have been able to enjoy musical pieces on violin and piano, by the duo AIDAN, which at some point in their history were prohibited or censored, whether for political, religious or sexual reasons. They played, among others, the Sonata in E minor, by Mozart; or Waltz nº2, by Shostakovich, in a setting in which Eugenio Merino’s refrigerator with the dictator Francisco Franco frozen inside has not gone unnoticed.
“Whoever wanted to come had to reserve a ticket, free of charge, to control the capacity, and we were surprised at how quickly they sold out. But we’ll see what we do when we celebrate our first anniversary. In any case, it is worth remembering that the museums are open all year round, so we will always be happy to welcome the public,” explained Lídia Penelo, in charge of communication and the center’s activities program.
As it could not be otherwise, the melodies and staves have also been part of the program that the Music Museum, located in the Auditori, has prepared for this special day. There, in a dimly lit room, visitors have come across a Reactable, a strange, yet captivating, electronic device that allows them to create endless compositions. “Is it an instrument from the future?” a little boy asked his father, who smiled at his curiosity. In fact it’s not. Between 2007 and 2008, the Icelandic artist Björk toured stages around the world with this particular mixing console created by the research team at the Pompeu Fabra University.
The two central courtyards of the Picasso Museum have also become an improvised dance floor for some daring people who did not waste the rhythm that came from the musical video art installation by Siddharth G. Singh and Fito Conesa, which invites visitors to reconnect with the nature and enjoy spring. “This year we wanted to enjoy both the day and the night in a big way,” acknowledged Tonina Cerdà, head of public programs at the center.
And if someone has had little time for long performances in museums, they have not been able to find a plausible excuse, since the CaixaForum has offered a series of micro concerts that have featured a wide range of styles: jazz, classical, swing… The party , one more year, has been assured.
