The city of Barcelona and the region are preparing to host Manifesta, the European nomadic biennial of art, architecture, and urbanism, which will celebrate its 15th edition on September 8, 2024. The event will take place in twelve cities over twelve weeks, where an extensive list of participants will materialize projects aimed at reimagining the future through art and architecture.
The first edition of Manifesta took place in Rotterdam in 1996. Over its 14 previous editions across 25 years, it has visited various European cities such as Luxembourg, Ljubljana, Frankfurt, San Sebastián, Trentino-South Tyrol, Murcia, Genk, Saint Petersburg, Zurich, Palermo, Marseille, and Pristina. One of the main pillars of Manifesta is based on critical urban research, promoting the construction of communities and cultural programs with a local identity that act as agents of change. While the nomadic character is a hallmark of the event, each city works with local artistic communities, citizens, and organizations to carry out projects that address issues inherent to the location.
For this upcoming edition, Barcelona submitted its candidacy to host Manifesta with the premise of rethinking the relationship between the city's historic center and its urban and natural surroundings, including rivers, mountains, and the Mediterranean Sea. Additionally, it aims to reconsider the current functions of these areas in relation to Barcelona. The 15th edition of Manifesta will explore the urban, environmental, and political challenges that the metropolitan region must face, and how these impact the area, also projecting these issues onto the European continent and the rest of the world.
The conceptual framework of the Manifesta 15 program focuses on exploring new ways of living in harmony with the natural environment, and vice versa. Participants from various disciplines have been invited to develop projects and interventions specifically adapted to each context in the different locations across the twelve cities. The program is organized into three thematic and geographical categories: Balancing Conflicts in the Llobregat Delta, Caring and Taking Care of Ourselves, which will take place in the Collserola Mountains and the Vallès area, and Imagining Futures in the Besòs River area and the northeast coast. Additionally, during Manifesta 15, FocusWeeks will be organized, weeks dedicated to discussing various themes specific to each host city. To inaugurate each of these FocusWeeks, a "mobile headquarters" will be constructed in collaboration with students from IAAC (Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia), which will act as a cultural center and mobile community space to host various activities in each location it is set up.
Manifesta 15 invites visitors to explore various iconic spaces of Catalan architecture and history, as well as to explore the routes within the host cities of the event. In this way, along with the projects adapted and built especially for the biennial, it aims to foster reflection on the built and natural environment, towards the future and change, recognizing the power of the arts to catalyze social transformation.
For more information, the complete list of participants and their extensive program over the eighty days is now available.
