The San Francisco press echoed a few days ago the “passionate ovation” that the work Mere Mortals received from the local opera ballet, directed by the daring Spanish Tamara Rojo and which had the production design and visual montage – with artificial intelligence – from Hamill Industries.
Hamill Industries is a name reminiscent of the Manchester manufacturing past behind which, in reality, the Barcelona creative studio of Pablo Barquín and Anna Diaz is hidden. Beyond the specific success, what is truly relevant is that the Hamills are not an isolated phenomenon.
That in Barcelona there is an emerging cultural scene in the art-science-technology triangle (with a clear component of techno-ethical activism) is something that has been confirmed in recent years. The novelty is that recent contributions can help this magma of dispersed initiatives crystallize this year.
What name should this crystalline solid be called? Or rather: should it have a name like Ars Electronica in Linz and, on an analog level, the Madrid-based Arco, or should this convergence of multidisciplinary talent be a network without hierarchies or labels, only at the service of art and the discovery?
Let's recap. Barcelona, like so many global cities, has a vibrant community of artists. They are creators who often work in a network of creative cities. But Barcelona artists (native or by choice) have at least three competitive advantages over those from other places.
The first would be the proximity of top-level science and technology institutions and companies led by people open to dialogue with art. To name just three cases, not all cities have a BSC, an Icfo or a UPC.
The second advantage is a happy coincidence: the fact that the city is home to two major global technology fairs, the MWC and the ISE. No city welcomes two giants of this magnitude.
In fact, this week the role of catalyst for technological art that the ISE, directed by Mike Blackman, is beginning to play has been confirmed.
Let's see. The ISE collaborated with Casa Batlló – another relevant asset – in the mapping of the artist Sofía Crespo, after in 2023 it did the same with that of Refik Anadol. Its stands have welcomed guest artists such as Jeroen van der Most, but also those invited by a Generalitat that, with the help of the Minister of Culture herself, Natàlia Garriga, and the general director Marisol López, works with perseverance to amplify this digital creative sphere.
In this framework, projects such as those from Onionlab, Nomada Studio, Eyesberg or Hamill Industries themselves were presented, which in the past have also collaborated with organizations such as Sónar D and Cosmocaixa/CaixaForum.
The fair directed by Blackman also projects a powerful focus on the Catalan immersive reality industry – which is experiencing exponential development – and on the audiovisual sector. And, finally, the ISE also sponsors the Llum BCN festival, promoted by Icub and directed by Maria Güell. This weekend, the internationalized Llum once again combines its status as a popular event with critical artistic proposals.
To complete the list of advantages that the Barcelona art and science community has, we must refer to Sónar D, created a decade ago as a meeting point for groups and people determined to explore the new frontiers of technology in the name of art.
In comparison, there are other cities in the world – not too many – that host macro-festivals of the size of Sónar, but none of them have dedicated so much effort and resources to promoting digital culture with an instrument like Sónar D. Thanks to the great sister festival, this satellite has a large potential audience.
In its line of programming for a large audience and not just for brainy experts, Sónar D has established itself as a must-see event. To the point that one wonders if this festival will not end up being the embryo of a great annual event that brings together many of the external initiatives in this field. If it isn't already.
Beyond its own programming, this 2024 Sónar D once again joins forces with the UPF to host the RAIN festival, dedicated to the use of AI in cinema. The AI Blockchain Creative Summit will also be held within it, led by UPF Ventures. In this context, already outside the perimeter of the festival, the global conference on video games Gamelab could be held on dates coinciding with Sónar D.
Sónar D can also be the venue for the presentation of the residencies of the European program S-T-ARTS in the City, of which the Barcelona hub HacTe is a part.
The composition of the S-T-Arts residency programs (Science, Technology, Arts) is a very revealing snapshot of the Spanish panorama: eight Catalan partners participate in this year's eight subprograms (Barcelona Supercomputing Center; Fundació Èpica Fura dels Baus; RCR -LAB·A; HacTe; the UB; PAL Robotics; the UPF and the MWC) compared to only one in the rest of Spain (the AIMEN center, in Galicia).
The internationalization of the local digital scene is going further. Other fronts are: the fluid relationship with Ars Electronica in Linz (the Catalan presence in this Austrian festival is always notable); the connection with the Arts at CERN program of the particle accelerator (its director, Mónica Bello, resides in the Catalan capital) and the involvement in New European Bauhaus projects with the help of its advisor Francesca Bria.
If Sónar D is today the pole around which multiple technological creativity initiatives orbit, the CCCB develops constant collaboration with large scientific institutions. The last is the exhibition on AI, in which the BSC participates.
Finally, a third pole is the Design Museum run by José Luis de Vicente at the DHUB. The 2024 program of this municipal center is a declaration of intentions: it starts with an exhibition, Patterns and recognitions, by the renowned London studio United Visual Artists, and will include a participation by the local collective Domestic Data Streamers with – once again – surprising uses of the AI.
Beyond these three poles, initiatives around art and science sprout in the city without rest. The world of traditional gallerism has already opened up to participate in this scene with the organization of Focus Digital in 2023. Galleries like Àngels Barcelona host experiences with AI. And last week another project was presented within the framework of the collaboration between the Senda gallery, the Apolo room and Screen Projects (Loop Barcelona) to exhibit work by artists such as Ada Morales, Fito Conesa or Mónica Rikić in the premises.
The latter, by the way, is working on a suggestive project at S-T-ARTS in the City: it involves caring robots (or female caring robots) and meets the requirements that characterize her work, which are craftsmanship and ethical reflection.
In this context, the Barcelona foundation Quo Artis (one of the oldest participants in the local art and science scene; it organized the Antarctic Art Biennial from the city) kicks off its international project A sea change on February 7, based on creative innovation in the blue economy and with artists such as Daniel G. Andújar, Robertina Šebjanič or Filippo Minelli
Meanwhile, on the editorial front, UPC-Arts (a fundamental asset in this whole network) has just published the second volume of its UPCArtsDiàlegs. Its titled
They are not the only projects to highlight. In the musical sphere is the BCN Music Lab, which promotes Cruïlla. In museology, the art-science line of Fundació la Caixa. And the contributions of festivals such as the Brain Film Fest or the Mira Digital Arts Fest are valuable.
In short, whether through the Arco formula (a single event that attracts all the creativity in its area around it) or in a multipolar format without hierarchies, Barcelona is in a position to position itself as one of the most advanced cities in Europe in digital creativity.
Careful. Nobody is saying that this advantage should be used to attract tourists or attract digital nomads. Rather, it would be about putting it at the service of the general idea of Barcelona as a creative and innovative city. And, incidentally, to use it to improve local self-esteem, so devalued since the irrational discourse that to live good cultural experiences you have to get on the AVE became predominant.
