The Town Hall of Teià (Maresme) celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the birth of the Batllori Fund with the exhibition Batllori x Batllori, which will open on Friday 8 September at 7.30pm in La Unió.
As its promoters explain, “it is an exhibition of celebration and recognition of the Batllori de Teià Fund, which was born from the connection of the illustrious and renowned cartoonist Antoni Batllori Jofré (ABJ, 1915-1999) with the town, as well as the generosity of the family, particularly his wife.”
In 2003, Maria Teresa Obiols donated to the municipality a large part of the artist's work, with more than 1,500 originals, and all the furniture in his studio, which can be visited in a faithfully recreated space in the Municipal House of Culture.
Since then, it was his son, Toni Batllori Obiols (1951-2023), who took care of him. For two decades, the much-missed ninotaire energized the Fund and made it known with samples and editions of the collection's own wardrobe: originals, Christmas carols, calendars and various reinterpretations, such as the exhibitions 'Els Objectes de 'Antoni Batllori Jofré', 'La Riera pam a pam' or 'Pedres i papallones'. In 2015, to celebrate the centenary of his birth, the book A. Batllori Jofré in 100 (1) drawings was published and the short play 'Un món dibuixat', written and performed by Toni Batllori himself, was premiered. equipped with a big head with his father's face specially built for the occasion.
Always with the intention of making a living space for exchange, and with the desire to stimulate active participation, Batllori organized the annual workshops The First Joke and The First Strip aimed at 6th grade students at the El Cim school and 2nd grade ESO students. of the Turó d'en Baldiri Institute.
Throughout these years, the Fund has traveled beyond Teià (to the Museo del Ter in Manlleu, in Sant Julià de Vilatorta, in Vilanova i la Geltrú...) with the traveling exhibition on ABJ's centenary and at the same tiempo, has been visited by cartoonists and artists from other disciplines thanks to Toni Batllori's universe of relationships. This is the case of Cesc, Roto, Guillermo Cifré, José María Cadena, José María Vallès, Joma, Arnal Ballester or José María Alguersuari.
From all this "and trying to follow the ABJ logic", the promoters of this tribute have chosen twelve proposals from the list that Toni Batllori himself had outlined for this exhibition. “And it has occurred to us – they explain – to deploy them around a central calendar, which is a very batllorià item.” In each of the months there are dating references and unique reminders.
The exhibition can be visited until October 1. Until then, other activities are scheduled: on September 17 at 11 a.m. there will be a family "found objects" workshop, on the 24th at 11:30 a.m. a guided tour of the exhibition followed by a vermouth will be offered, and on the last day At 10 a.m. there will be a “Batllorian route” through emblematic places in the town that ABJ drew or with which he established a special bond. The itinerary has been prepared by the painter Anna Ballester and the art and history technician Cristina Armengol, and will be captured in a triptych so that anyone who wants can do it freely on foot as a new tourist attraction in the town.
