Generator Hostels Barcelona ‘Win a Trip to Barcelona’ competition

Now let me be clear, I don’t promote just any old thing. It takes time to write even the simplest blog post. But any chance to get some friends over for a fun-filled week in my adopted city is fine by me. So let me introduce the Generator Hostels Barcelona competition to win a trip to Barcelona for you and 3 friends. Flights included! Read the rest of this article…

Street Artist: Kenor

I wrote about the Barcelona street art exhibition, Las Calles Hablan, back in August last year. The funding drive for the exhibition was a huge success as was the exhibition itself. It showcased street artists and their work in Barcelona.

Las Calles Hablan documentary

Well finally, the much talked about Las Calles Hablan Barcelona street art documentary is available to watch online. This feature-length documentary about street art in Barcelona is… “a story about discovering a hidden world, an extraordinary subculture and the struggle between an artistic community painting for freedom of expression and an increasingly restrictive dogmatic government”.

This is excellent work and I know for a fact that the project grew in size while the film was being made. Thus the delay in bringing it to fruition. But the wait was worth it. For anyone interested in street art, and particularly its recognised place in the culture of a city, this is a must-watch. Read the rest of this article…

He’s done it again. This time at night. Midnight Barcelona is the new time-lapse film from Pau García Laita. I wrote about Summer Barcelona shortly after it was posted on Vimeo in October last year. I still watch it now and everyone I show it to loves it.

Midnight Barcelona is equally impressive. More fast-paced. With another fitting track, this time called Starscapes from American Dollar. This is Barcelona at night, looking and sounding great! I particularly like the scenes of the Magic Fountain, the office building, and the underpass along Passeig de Colom.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Pau is a freelance film-maker from Barcelona whose main interest is extreme sports filming. You can check out Pau’s other work on Vimeo or at www.paugarcialaita.com.

The exhibition LDN-BCN opens at the Untitled BCN gallery space in Gràcia this Saturday the 10th of November.

There will be 18 artists taking part, all of whom make up a collective formed following participation in a residency in East London in June of this year. The show will comprise painting, photography, sculpture, video, installation and performance. LDN-BCN will be the first of their international biannual group shows.

My home town of London is obviously very close to my heart. And any collaboration between my old and new love is a good thing. Read the rest of this article…

Above is the beautiful video by Pau García Laita. Summer Barcelona is produced using a tilt-shift photography effect. It took me a few scenes to realise I was watching the real thing and not just a model. It’s Barcelona in miniature!

Summer Barcelona by Pau García Laita

Filmed during the summer of 2012 this video has just been released on Vimeo. It uses a great track by Croquet Club called If You Really Care.

Pau is a 22 year-old freelance film-maker from Barcelona whose main interest is extreme sports filming. I asked him about the video and the techniques he used. Read the rest of this article…

This is a bit of a lame post. Pretty much a copy and paste job. But I’ve never been to this event in the years I’ve been here so I don’t have much to say about it. But I like the idea behind it. Recycling old stuff and reinventing it into art and designer objects. Artistic recycling.

Drap-Art 2012: International Recycling Art Festival of Catalonia

The event is held at the Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB) and surrounding spaces between Friday Oct 5th (today) and Sunday October 14th.

From the website…

Drap-Art is a showcase of the trends in art that make use of objets trouvés and waste materials as a resource. It is a platform for emerging artists and designers around the world, who use trash as raw material, it is a forum for discussion of theories and urban utopias. Drap-Art is a meeting place for specialists with a public in search of alternatives, in a world that seems to be doomed to destruction.

So this year I’m going to make a special effort to get along to it. There’s a Drap-Art Boutique where you can buy things too. Though the prices may be a bit steep for us mere mortals. Read the rest of this article…

Festa al Cel 2012 – Let your imagination fly away

Did you think La Mercè was over? Think again. There are events running right up until the end of September. And the annual Barcelona air show, the Festa al Cel, is one of the final events of this year’s festival. Between 10am and 2pm on September 30th the beaches of Mar Bella and Nova Mar Bella are the place to be. The skies above the sea host a spectacular display of all types of flying machines.

The Spanish Air Force, the Spanish Navy, the Spanish Army, aerobatics champions, and international performers both civilian and military take to the skies in light aircraft, helicopters, sea planes, state-of-the-art jets and even a passenger plane for a colourful and sometimes ear-splitting show of flying technology both old and new. Read the rest of this article…