This photographic project, about Barcelona seen from the suburbs that sprang up as a result of postwar migration to the city, is in line with the tradition of local photographic projects about urban development since the Olympic era. A critical and civil tradition that sees photography as a counter-discourse to advertising.
Historically, the periphery has always been the most innovative part of the city, the place where emerging tendencies first manifest themselves. Hence, a project about the periphery will work as a future prospect of the evolution of Barcelona in the next few years and offer significant documentation about the city during the current decade. In the past, Barcelona’s suburbs have grown in two opposite geographic areas: the north and north-west zone, from the Besòs River to the hills of Collserola, and the south and south-east zone, which includes the historic centre of the Raval and the Gothic Quarter, and the back of Montjuïc, which borders with the harbour and the Zona Franca.
The project includes thirteen commissioned works, some of a transversal character spanning different neighbourhoods, and others constructed as field studies of a more specific nature. Their focus is also varied, with some purely topographic, while others address social issues:
Although this is mostly a photographic project, some works in cinematic or video format have also been commissioned. The selection criteria have been: gender parity, a balanced number of local and non-local, Spanish and international artists, of different ages and generations, who have produced work in Barcelona or have links with the city, and have a relevant track record within the documentary tradition and a body of work that fits the project.
This exhibition has been produced in collaboration with MACBA Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Barcelona, Fomento de Ciudad SA and the Barcelona Institute of Culture as part of the 2021-2024 Barcelona City Council’s Neighbourhood Plan.
