Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art
Encyclopedia
El Raval
El Raval is a neighbourhood in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, Spain. The neighborhood, especially the part closest to the port, was also informally known as Barri xinès, meaning "Chinatown" El Raval is one of the two historical neighborhoods that border the la Rambla...
, Ciutat Vella
Ciutat Vella
Ciutat Vella is a district of Barcelona, numbered District 1. The name means "old city" in Catalan and refers to the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Barcelona, Spain. Ciutat Vella is nestled between the Mediterranean Sea and the neighborhood called l'Eixample...
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The museum opened to the public on November 28, 1995. Its current director is Bartomeu Marí (since 2008). Previous directors were Daniel Giralt-Miracle (1988-1994), Miguel Molins (1995-1998), Manuel J. Borja-Villel (1998-2007).
History of the Museum
In 1959, art critic Alecandre Cirici Pellicer formed a group of contemporary artists showing work in a series of 23 exhibitions with the hopes of beginning a collection for a new contemporary art museum in Barcelona. It was not until 1986 that the Barcelona City Council recommended the American architect Richard Meier & PartnersRichard Meier
Richard Meier is an American architect, whose rationalist buildings make prominent use of the color white.- Biography :Meier is Jewish and was born in Newark, New Jersey...
(1987–1995) to design the museum. Art critics Francesc Miralles and Rosa Queralt were hired to write the museum’s mission statement. In 1987, the MACBA Foundation was created. In the following year the MACBA Foundation, in conjunction with the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Barcelona City Council, founded the MACBA Consortium in order further the process of the museum. The Consortium commissioned Meier later that year to build the museum. This was a controversial issue considering that the museum had no collection at the time of construction. Nevertheless, Meier embraced the difficult task of creating a building that would ultimately display a variety of contemporary artworks that were unknown to him at the time of design. The choice to build the museum in the Plaça dels Ángels is consistent with Meier’s vision to situate the building amongst some of Barcelona’s oldest streets and buildings, in addition to revamping the public space of the Raval. After the completion of the $35 million construction, local media referred to the museum as “the pearl” amongst the old architecture and narrow streets just a few blocks from Gothic center of Barcelona. The building’s architectural style has strong references to Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
. The large (120 by 35 meters) white building has much of its southern elevation glazed, providing the visitor with views across the plaza, and allowing for an abundance of natural light to illuminate the interior galleries.
MACBA Foundation and collection
The Foundation manages the permanent collection, which dates from the mid-20th century onward. There are three periods of modern art represented: the first one covers the forties to the sixties; the second spans the sixties and seventies; the third period is contemporary. The collections focus on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art, although some International artists are also represented. The permanent collection, as well as temporary exhibitions, seek to examplify the Foundation’s mission, stated below:“Through the Collection and the exhibition/activities calendar, the MACBA hopes to construct a critical memory of Art of the latter half of the 20th century, with two objectives: to oppose rhetoric and hegemonic forces which tend to mythologize the local-national while exploiting cultural institutions as active agents of tertiary economics in urban centres; and to present alternatives for the insufficiencies of the dominant museum model, which is generally based on the universalist myth of the original work presented as spectacle. Working from the concept that there is no “public;” only “publics” consisting of specific and differentiated groups, the museum ceases to be a mere producer of exhibitions and becomes a purveyor of different services for different subjects. The exhibition is then an experience on a par with that of workshops, conferences, audiovisual activities, publications, etc. All of these experiences are defined by a series of discursive lines which lend thematic coherence” MACBA Website.
Education, Publications, Events
In December 2007, the museum opened its Study Center, enhancing the educational aspect which is integral to the museum’s mission. The Library Reading Room and Special Collections Room grant the public free access to the museum’s books, publications collection, and archives.MACBA publishes mainly exhibition catalogues from the museum, although has published some monographic books and critical essays as well. Additionally, MACBA has three digital publications: "Quaderns portàtils," "Quaderns d'Àudio," and "Sèrie Capella MACBA."
MACBA offers a variety of events including lectures, seminars, guided tours, video screenings etc. in order to broaden the educational opportunities available to the public.
Location
The Museum address is Plaça dels Angels, 1, Barcelona. The closest metroBarcelona Metro
The Barcelona Metro , part of the public transportation system of Barcelona, Catalonia, is an extensive network of electrified railways that run underground in central Barcelona and above ground into the city's suburbs. Since July 31, 2010, Barcelona Metro system consists of 11 lines with 165...
stations are Catalunya and Universitat.
Opposite the main museum, in the medieval Convent dels Àngels for which the square is named, a chapel has been converted into a separate exposition area known as the Capella del MACBA, with regular video art
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...
performances. Entrance to this part of the museum is free.
Another contemporary art museum, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona
Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona
The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona is one of the most visited exhibition and arts centres in the city of Barcelona.Situated in the Raval district, the Centre’s core theme is the city and urban culture...
(CCCB), is adjacent to MACBA, and accessible both from the street and from the inner patio
Patio
A patio is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is typically paved. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard of the sort found in Spanish-style dwellings or a paved area between a residence and a garden....
.
See also
- List of museums in Barcelona
- List of artists from the MACBA collection
- Museo de Escultura al Aire Libre de Alcalá de HenaresMuseo de Escultura al Aire Libre de Alcalá de HenaresThe Museum of Outdoor Sculpture of Alcala de Henares is a permanent exhibition of contemporary art in public Alcalá de Henares , opened in 1993 and organized by the sculptor José Noja....