Barcelona – Valencia – Palma
26 May - 12 Sep 2010
BARCELONA – VALÈNCIA – PALMA
A History of Confluence and Divergence
May 26 - September 12, 2010
These are three cities which, at many points in time, have walked in step or moved along the same lines of force, which becomes apparent when we evaluate their history and the way they have evolved in recent centuries. In addition to their common language, we find similarities in architecture and urban planning, a comparable human geography, covering the tumult, the paradoxes, the noise and the variety that characterize the 21st-century city, and an urban aesthetic that unites them, though each has conserved its particularities, with periods of greater distance and even confrontation.
The exhibition will showcase the present-day situation in the context of the last 20-30 years, developing two fundamental aspects: the urban and the human landscape.
It will be divided into the following sections:
1. Future City
The city of the future or the city that awaits us. Our aim is to take a leap forwards and discover how cities will evolve to adapt or face up to the contingencies they may meet: from new waves of migration to a possible climate change that blurs the city’s relation with the sea.
2. Language
Barcelona, Valencia and Palma have shared the Catalan language since the 13th century. Today, Spanish is almost always spoken in Valencia; in Barcelona, Spanish and Catalan share a space, and in Palma this is also the case, though Spanish is gaining ground. In legal terms, the two languages are official in the three cities. At the same time, many others have made their way into all three cities, whether at home or in the neighbourhood where the speakers live, as a result of recent years of immigration: Tamazight, Urdu and Chinese, among others. This space sets out to trace every aspect of the linguistic reality of the three cities.
3. Spectacle City
The three cities have their sights firmly set on being the focus of attraction for major events. They have sought to capitalize many economic, social, cultural and sporting movements to attract attention, which translates as financial income that contributes to the city’s prestige and dynamism. The three capitals have adopted a strategy that allows them to rebuild impoverished or run-down areas lacking in investment as sites for major constructions by internationally renowned architects. These creations bring a whole new impetus to city spaces, which become showcases of the image the city aims to project around the world.
4. Ugly City
The old towns of the three cities are rather run-down, the medieval fabric is largely fragmented and there are few traces of the past. At the same time, the urban growth of the sixties produced outlying housing districts with many structural shortcomings and few services. Recently there have been many public and private attempts to restore and conserve the old towns and improve the periphery, but it is not enough. In recent years, tourism has increased exponentially, and this part of the exhibition serves to ask what kind of city tourists find when they arrive? How do we receive them? What do we offer?
5. Hedonistic City
Barcelona, Palma and Valencia are Mediterranean cities, with the sea nearby, a fertile plain on which they have settled and grown, active trade and a pleasant climate. Their inhabitants live in a special location where the street and public life play a major role. And, with nuances and differences, historically they have enjoyed them. Today, the keystone of all three cities’ economy is tourism—a cut-price form that has led to unbridled growth of leisure activities that are cheap and often disruptive for local people. Pleasure, then, can be expressed and interpreted differently, but it does play an important role in the three cities.
6. Medieval City
The Gothic city forged the spirit of the three cities that merge to translate as a bygone but still distinguishable setting of town walls, guilds’ streets, exchanges, cathedrals and churches. This common heritage is further accentuated by the fact that the artisans and architects who erected the most notable buildings from this period were related to all three cities, and came and went between them, leaving us enduring works. With the advent of modernity, the middle classes and hygienist movements, the walls of the three cities were demolished and it became necessary to build city extensions.
A History of Confluence and Divergence
May 26 - September 12, 2010
These are three cities which, at many points in time, have walked in step or moved along the same lines of force, which becomes apparent when we evaluate their history and the way they have evolved in recent centuries. In addition to their common language, we find similarities in architecture and urban planning, a comparable human geography, covering the tumult, the paradoxes, the noise and the variety that characterize the 21st-century city, and an urban aesthetic that unites them, though each has conserved its particularities, with periods of greater distance and even confrontation.
The exhibition will showcase the present-day situation in the context of the last 20-30 years, developing two fundamental aspects: the urban and the human landscape.
It will be divided into the following sections:
1. Future City
The city of the future or the city that awaits us. Our aim is to take a leap forwards and discover how cities will evolve to adapt or face up to the contingencies they may meet: from new waves of migration to a possible climate change that blurs the city’s relation with the sea.
2. Language
Barcelona, Valencia and Palma have shared the Catalan language since the 13th century. Today, Spanish is almost always spoken in Valencia; in Barcelona, Spanish and Catalan share a space, and in Palma this is also the case, though Spanish is gaining ground. In legal terms, the two languages are official in the three cities. At the same time, many others have made their way into all three cities, whether at home or in the neighbourhood where the speakers live, as a result of recent years of immigration: Tamazight, Urdu and Chinese, among others. This space sets out to trace every aspect of the linguistic reality of the three cities.
3. Spectacle City
The three cities have their sights firmly set on being the focus of attraction for major events. They have sought to capitalize many economic, social, cultural and sporting movements to attract attention, which translates as financial income that contributes to the city’s prestige and dynamism. The three capitals have adopted a strategy that allows them to rebuild impoverished or run-down areas lacking in investment as sites for major constructions by internationally renowned architects. These creations bring a whole new impetus to city spaces, which become showcases of the image the city aims to project around the world.
4. Ugly City
The old towns of the three cities are rather run-down, the medieval fabric is largely fragmented and there are few traces of the past. At the same time, the urban growth of the sixties produced outlying housing districts with many structural shortcomings and few services. Recently there have been many public and private attempts to restore and conserve the old towns and improve the periphery, but it is not enough. In recent years, tourism has increased exponentially, and this part of the exhibition serves to ask what kind of city tourists find when they arrive? How do we receive them? What do we offer?
5. Hedonistic City
Barcelona, Palma and Valencia are Mediterranean cities, with the sea nearby, a fertile plain on which they have settled and grown, active trade and a pleasant climate. Their inhabitants live in a special location where the street and public life play a major role. And, with nuances and differences, historically they have enjoyed them. Today, the keystone of all three cities’ economy is tourism—a cut-price form that has led to unbridled growth of leisure activities that are cheap and often disruptive for local people. Pleasure, then, can be expressed and interpreted differently, but it does play an important role in the three cities.
6. Medieval City
The Gothic city forged the spirit of the three cities that merge to translate as a bygone but still distinguishable setting of town walls, guilds’ streets, exchanges, cathedrals and churches. This common heritage is further accentuated by the fact that the artisans and architects who erected the most notable buildings from this period were related to all three cities, and came and went between them, leaving us enduring works. With the advent of modernity, the middle classes and hygienist movements, the walls of the three cities were demolished and it became necessary to build city extensions.