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…

Midnight in Barcelona

Katrine shares her love of Barcelona at midnight.

When I first moved to Barcelona, I was living in a flat in the center of the city. After a year, I moved to Gràcia.

I am not the biggest fan of the night bus, always preferring to walk home, to let my mind wander and gaze at the city in the cool night air. I became fascinated with the nighttime colors and shadows, tumbling over cobblestone, through doorways and windows.

Many things catch the eye when meandering through a city, depending on the angle and the time of day, the light and the shadows do many dances, draping over various shapes and leaning towards opposite directions in increasing and decreasing lengths.

Midnight in Barcelona

What is it about line and shadow when it hits that late time at night?

I am caught gazing at beautiful balconies, wires that play between windows, shadows tumbling over cobblestone streets, in and out of doorways with a perfect glow of warmth. The light turns to a warm hue and shadows draw your attention to cracked walls leaning long across the street.There is a quiet and a beauty that I absolutely treasure meandering through the streets at midnight in Barcelona.

Katrine is a freelance graphic designer, currently living and working in Brooklyn, NY. She is the founder of and writer for Urban Artcade, a site containing interviews with international and local artists. Currently, she is curating an exhibit called Las Calles Hablan which focuses on the politics and story of street art in Barcelona. The exhibit will be showing at Mutuo Centro de Arte on 25th October 2012.

Urban Artcade: www.urbanartcade.com
Mapping Barcelona Public Art: www.mbpa.es
Kickstarter – Las Calles Hablan: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1857535961/barcelona-street-art-exhibit-las-calles-hablan

Barcelona street art by SM172

I like the street art in Barcelona. It adds vibrancy to the city and some of the building pieces are truly amazing. And when the shutters are down I much prefer seeing an amusing piece than a boring metal shutter. I take photos whenever I can and post them to my Barcelona street art Pinterest board.

Katrine Knauer likes the street art in Barcelona too. She runs a group on Facebook and a website called Mapping Barcelona Public Art, ‘an ongoing project to promote the understanding and protect the freedom of expression on the streets of Barcelona’. But now she has launched a project on the fundraising website, Kickstarter, to hold the first exhibition, Las Calles Hablan at the Mutuo Centro de Arte, involving local artists Debens, Kenor, Kafre, Tom14, Btoy, OGOCH and SM172. The exhibition is scheduled for 25th October 2012. Read the rest of this article…

Facebook Pages are a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at your favourite places without going to their website all the time. Events, offers, photos. Just ‘like’ the page and their latest news appears in your news feed. If they keep their pages up to date that is!

Below is a list of Facebook Pages (and a few Groups) relating to Barcelona. I realise there are hundreds out there. But these are the ones I’ve come across during my time here (and some friends pages). I hope you find something of interest.

Guides

• Barcelona Metropolitan – The mummy and daddy of Barcelona Guides. It has articles on all sorts of topics. Great restaurant posts from the annoying (only because she has such a fab job) Tara Stevens.
• Barcelona Miniguide – The slightly wayward child of Barcelona Guides. So therefore my preferred guide.
• Hidden Treasures BCN – A Facebook only endeavour. It’s all in the title.
• Le Cool Barcelona – Want to know what’s really going on in Barcelona? Le Cool has the low-down on some of the quirkier events.
• Me Encanta Barcelona – I love Barcelona too!
• Videos from Barcelona – A video only city guide. The 80 or more videos are hosted by the irrepressible Gina Tost.

Check out more Facebook Pages for the arts, music, bars, food and… a butifarra private members club?!… Read the rest of this article…