Carlos Durán, one of the festival’s co-founders, tells us what to look out for this year.
LOOP is the best film festival in Barcelona. Now in its 16th year, it’s become the city’s definitive platform for video art. Each year, they present the work of 800 artists to 200,000 festival-goers in over 100 locations in the form of screenings, exhibitions and live performances all over the city. This year, it’s happening from 12—24 November, and Sir Victor is in on the action. We’re screening the winner of 2019 Loop Discover Award for the duration of the festival 24 hours a day in our lobby, and you don't want to miss it.
If there’s anything art-related happening in Barcelona, Carlos Durán is probably involved. He’s one of LOOP’s co-founders and a local art aficionado. He even helped curate our incredible art collection at Sir Victor. Durán tells us what to look out for at this year’s festival.
WHY LOOP IS SO SPECIAL:
Loop is special because it’s an exception within the art world panorama. It’s the only fair dedicated 100% to video art that take place over 15 days throughout the city. That means all the video art lovers can meet together in one specific place, Barcelona, and enjoy some of the more interesting tendencies of moving images.
THE EVENTS YOU CANNOT MISS THIS YEAR:
It depends a little bit what you’re looking for. If you’re interested in the theme of this year, “Even Outer Space”, and the local scene of young artists, you definitely have to go see "One Day I Stumbled Upon a Meteorite," a group show at Fabra i Coats. If you want to take a walk through the city and you’re more into how landscape is a reflection of our contemporary issues, don’t miss "The bee who forgot the honey," a delocalized exhibition in some very beautiful locations like Casa Vicens, The Museu Marès or the Museu d’Art de Catalunya. And if you like performance, Aleksandra Mir’s "The Dream and the Promise" on Friday, 15 November at Convent de Sant Agustí is the event you cannot miss. It’s really up to you!
ONE INSIDER TIP ABOUT THE FESTIVAL:
It’s an opportunity to discover Metrònom Fundació Rafael Tous d’Art Contemporani, a big reference in the art scene of Barcelona in the past decades. The space has been closed since 2006, but they’re going to present "From delivery to withdrawal (Into implicit secrecy and silence #3)" on Saturday, 16 November at noon, inside the program of LOOP 2019. A great opportunity to see the space and also a good way to enjoy the Born neighborhood, where Metrònom is still located.
HOW TO MAKE A STRATEGY FOR THE WEEK:
Again, it depends a lot on your interests. But, as they say in France, the best is to flâner—stroll. Let yourself be surprised by what LOOP offers you in every venue. Dig into the schedule and find your favorites.
ABOUT THE FILM SCREENING AT SIR VICTOR:
With the support of Estrella Damm, the artwork we will present is the winner of 2019 Loop Discover Award. This award invites viewers to think from the artistic practice of the new challenges that cities face nowadays: What place will cities have in global transformation processes? How should we transform them to achieve more egalitarian, accessible and sustainable cities? What role will citizens have in these transformation processes? In short, what kinds of cities do we want?
We are confident in the piece selected by the international jury, which includes Irene Campolmi, curator and researcher in Copenhagen, Hiuwai Chu , Exhibitions Curator at MACBA; Chema González, Head of Cultural Activites at Museo Nacional Reina Sofía in Madrid; Javier Panera, curator and professor at Universidad de Salamanca, and directed by Gisela Chillida.
WHERE TO CONTINUE EXPLORING FILM AFTER LOOP:
If it’s in Barcelona, there are some very interesting centers, like the CCCB or Zumzeig, that offer a beautiful program on films and art. Obviously, Bill Viola’s exhibition at La Pedrera is a must! Or you can go to the D’art (festival de Cine Documental sobre Arte Contemporáneo) starting on 28 November. If abroad, you can enjoy some great video art in the TBA21, in both Madrid and Vienna, or the Julia Stoschek Collection in Berlin and Düsseldorf—both collaborators of LOOP this year.
Image: MNAC, MASBEDO, Fragile, 2016
