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May sees two excellent events for those who love visiting museums. On May 18, International Museum Day is celebrated, a European initiative that sees numerous institutions open their doors for free and put on a special programme of activities. The aim is to raise awareness in visitors about the key role museums and other cultural centres can play in the development of society.
At the same time, Barcelona holds its Night of Museums, when participating venues stay open for free until night, offering a different way to experience the permanent and temporary exhibitions currently on show, as well as the chance to enjoy different activities, such as family workshops, live performances and guided tours. This is also a global event, one that started in Berlin in 1997 and is now celebrated in around 120 European cities each year. Signed up to the two events in Barcelona are a wide variety of centres whose specialisations include art, archeology, history, author, ethnology, paleontology, ceramics, zoology, movies, design and much more.
Night of the Museums: 18th May, from 7pm to 1am.* International Museum Day: 18th May.
This is one of the most keenly anticipated and widely celebrated Catalan public holidays. According to the traditional tale, Sant Jordi (Saint George) killed the dragon that used to live in Montblanc where it terrorized the local population, thus saving the king's daughter from certain death. Legend has it that a beautiful rose bush sprang up in the spot where the dragon's blood was spilled. From the 18th century onward, the Sant Jordi festival became widely identified as a Catalan 'fiesta' which these days arouses great popular, civic and cultural passion. On Sant Jordi's Day, lovers exchange a rose and a book and every town and city in Catalonia is filled with stalls set up to sell both.
The Patum de Berga is a truly ancient traditional festival. It is cultural phenomenon that grew out of the theatrical performances that used to accompany the Corpus Christi processions in the Middle Ages. The event is focused on fire, music and a series of symbolic characters. These days, the Patum is as vibrant as ever; to the point it has been declared an event of Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. A small square in Berga, not far from Barcelona, concentrates all of the the energy, passion and magic of an unmissable festival.
The Grec, Barcelona's keenly anticipated annual festival of music, dance, circus and theater is about to begin. It is a festival that now forms part of the city's cultural landscape and connects fully with its artistic life. This year more than ever the Teatre Grec, which gives its name to the festival, is at the epicenter, but you will be able to see related events at a multitude of venues across Barcelona.
This year's Grec de Barcelona Festival is a celebration of local talent, with artists it has helped to grow and who now represent Barcelona around the world. At the same time, it pays tribute to world masters of the performing arts.
The European Museum of Modern Art, the MEAM, located in a building of the 18th century (Palau Gomis), is offering more than contemporary figurative art. A series of activities related to music is planned throughout the year, to enjoy a different kind of program.
Every Friday evening, the museum is filled with music. The Friday's Blues cycle offers the possibility of enjoying a concert of bluegrass blues, swing and jazz. Bands bring their instruments to accompany the works and fill the museum with music for visitors to enjoy. Saturday evenings are reserved for classical music.
Before the concerts, you can visit the collection exhibiting the best of contemporary figurative art. This is a feature of MEAM and highlights it from other contemporary art museums.
The Gran Teatre del Liceu is one of Barcelona's iconic venues and among the world's most spectacular opera houses. It begins the new season with an ambitious series of performances. The season will feature major works such as Turandot, Carmen, Un ballo in maschera and Fidelio. The theatre will also be hosting dance performances featuring A Midsummer Night's Dream performed by the Ballet Dortmund and The Swan Lake performed by Ballet del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.
There will also be concert performances of works by Mendelssohn, Schubert and Monteverdi. And, finally, families will be able to enjoy the season for kids, the Petit Liceu, which will feature different shows, including La Barcarola and Rossini's Kitchen.
World Press Photo is the exhibition that showcases the winners of the contest of the same name, regarded as the world's top photojournalism exhibition. The exhibition, which every year travels to different cities all over the world, is stopping off in Barcelona again for another essential date for photography enthusiasts. The exhibition is being enhanced by guided tours, workshops and other activities intended to get people talking about the values and challenges of photojournalism.
One of the most highly awaited music festivals of the season, the Festival del Mil·lenni will be celebrating its 25th edition. Spread out over several months, the Festival program schedules a series of concerts in the city's best theaters and auditoriums to cover almost all musical genres: from pop to Flamenco, as well as classic, folk and jazz music. Each year prominent international artists touch down in Barcelona and this year will be no different. This year's Mil·lenni Festival will be hosting artists of the likes of Vanessa Martín, Ainhoa Arteta, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Gilberto Gil and Adamo.
This may essentially be a festival based on only one instrument, but the sounds, performers and styles on the programme could scarcely be more wide-ranging. The skill of the organisers, leading Spanish music promoters The Project, in bringing together Catalan, Spanish, European and international performers from a variety of musical genres is quite something. Flamenco to pop, classic Cuban to contemporary Catalan, acoustic and electric, emerging and veteran acts – all this and more fills the many city venues that take part in Guitar BCN.
The Barcelona Obertura Spring Festival, focusing on classical music, returns. Organised by Barcelona Obertura, Gran Teatre del Liceu Opera House, Palau de la Música Catalana and L'Auditori, Barcelona Obertura Classic & Lyric gives you the opportunity to hear top performers sing live, including singers from Spain and abroad, at these three venues.
This year the programme will also feature Ciutat de Clàssica, a free performances itinerary at different emblematic locations around the city such as Casa Batlló, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, CASA SEAT, Fundació Miró, Fundació Antoni Tàpies and the Barcelona City Council's network of civic centers, which repeat the collaboration with the festival, and new venues such as Mirador Torre Glòries, Palau Güell, Can Deu civic center and the Mercè Rodoreda and García Márquez libraries.
