The cartoonist Pilarín Bayés is the special guest of the ninth edition of Gargar de Penelles, in la Noguera (Lleida), the Murals and Rural Art Festival that will take place from May 3 to 5.
The artist will paint a 6-meter mural in the square of the old church, one of the central points of the contest.
Along with Bayés, 8 more artists will participate, three of them international and three from the Ponent regions.
Again, different styles can be seen, from illustration to hyperrealism through figurative art and abstract art.
Three of the new murals will replace works from previous editions and, with the new interventions, the municipality will exceed 150 works. Also new, Gargar is extended one more day and will open on Friday with a night of monologues.
The nine artists will fill the walls and different spaces of Penelles with color in a new edition of Gargar, an event that, with nearly a decade of existence, has transformed this municipality of La Noguera of about 450 inhabitants into a large open-air museum where You can see more than 150 works.
Among the participants, the collaboration of the cartoonist Pilarín Bayés stands out, who at 83 years old will draw and paint a 6-meter mural on one of the walls of the square where the festival information point is located. "We are very excited about the participation of Pilarín Bayés, a reference in Catalan illustration who has marked three generations of Catalans and people from all over the world," explained Gargar's artistic director, Jordi Solsona.
It will be one of the editions with the most participants from the Ponent regions, with three. These are the artists Cisco KSL from Bellpuig, and the Lleida residents Sermon and Sonia Alins. The rest of the participants are Anetta Lukjano - the first Scandinavian artist that Gargar participates in -, Dirty, Kogaone, Isaac Mahow and Irene López León.
On the other hand, the contest continues the collaboration with the Ondara de Tàrrega Art School with a collaborative mural that will be created by 15 students and two professors from the CFGM of Mural Coverings and Urban Art.
Apart from seeing the artists painting, Gargar fills the weekend with dozens of proposals, such as artistic workshops, live music, a craft market, a gastronomic space and, as a novelty, a night of monologues.
The proposal, in collaboration with Cruïlla Comèdia and named Gargar Comedy, will take place on Friday, May 3 at the Penelles social venue and will feature performances by comedians Irene Minovas, Andrea Farina and Andrés Fajngold.
Gargar mobilizes a hundred volunteers from the municipality and is part of the celebrations of the Roser festivities, which this year is also sponsored by Pilarín Bayés. During the weekend, the City Council will provide a thousand parking spaces for visitors.
