The 13th Edition of LOOP Barcelona Begins 5/28-6/6

The XIII Edition of LOOP Barcelona, including its Fair, Festival, and Studies, will develop its artistic programme and space of debate around two driving themes: What about Collecting Video Art? and Beyond the Image: Sound.

Through these three sections - Fair, Festival, and Studies - LOOP Barcelona presents a careful selection of video pieces, a programme of exhibitions in the principal spaces of the city, interventions in public spaces, and displays a wide programme of discussions and professional encounters regarding video art between 28 May and 6 June in the City of Barcelona.

On the one hand, the LOOP Fair, 4 - 6 June, will take place in the Hotel Catalonia Ramblas, where more that 45 galleries will present solo shows by contemporary video artists in various rooms. Many of these showings will be world premieres. During these three days, LOOP Studies will present an extensive programme of discussions and professional encounters regarding video art in a large workspace that will encourage reflection upon LOOP 2015's two main lines of work.

Among this year's new additions to LOOP Barcelona is the launch of the first edition of the Discovery Award, with the support of Estrella Damm. The purpose of the award is to stimulate the production of videos and films by international artists through an open call to the artistic community. The winner of the Discovery Award, that offers a prize of 5,000 euros, will be announced on 5 June at a party in the Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm, where there will also be an exhibition of the ten pieces by this year's finalists.

LOOP Barcelona is not only an event for professionals, but it also strives to engage the audiences. For this reason, between 28 May and 6 June, diverse city spaces will welcome video exhibitions organized within the framework of LOOP Festival. The recently opened Museu de Cultures del Món, as well as numerous spaces within the premises of the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu, among these, the Biblioteca Nacional de Catalunya and la Capella, will join for the first time the city spaces that welcome exhibition projects and artistic interventions. These spaces include, the Filmoteca de Catalunya, the cine Zumzeig, the Mercat de la Boqueria, the Virreina-Centre de la Imatge, the Reial Cercle Artístic, the Museu Picasso, the Ateneu Barcelonès, the Museu Frederic Marès, and the Palau del Baró de Quadras, a modernist building constructed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch and current headquarters of the Institut Ramon Llull. Arts Santa Mónica will present a new piece by artist Jordi Colomer, winner of the first edition of the award for video creation recently launched by Xarxa de Centres i Espais d'Arts Visuals de Catalunya, Arts Santa Mònica, and LOOP Barcelona, and that also counts on the support of the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.

During LOOP dates, there will also be a number of diverse, special interventions in public spaces of the city with the fourth edition of the project UMVA (Unidad Móvil de video arquitectura). This project, made in collaboration with the Universidad de Arquitectura de la Salle, consists of putting architecture students in contact with local artists for the production of pieces and works of investigation.

The Two Driving Themes

What about Collecting Video Art?

This theme will explore the notion of collecting video art and will highlight the role of the collector as an active agent in the promotion of contemporary art, who is committed to the artistic community, and who assumes a proactive position in the art world. Video art collecting will be the focus of the programme of discussions that will take place from 4 - 6 June in the Hotel Catalonia Ramblas. This topic will also be addressed through a number of exhibitions in the chief artistic centers of the city, that from 28 May to 6 June will welcome collections and collectors of international reference, such as Sammlung Goetz (Germany), Sam Art Projects (France), collection Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Italy) and Leal Rios (Portugal). At the same time, LOOP Barcelona 2015 will present the leading video collectors from Spain in the exhibition, Vídeo- Règim. Col·leccionistes a l'era audiovisual, a project curated by Carles Guerra that will occur in the Cercle del Liceu - a space that will open for the first time to the general public for this particular show. El Museu Nacional de Catalunya will also join LOOP by welcoming a selection of works from the Fundació Sorigué in an exhibition curated by Javier Panera.

Beyond the Image: Sound

This theme will explore the artistic sound practices that are closely related to the moving image. For this occasion, the French specialist, Anne-Laure Chamboissier, will curate a programme of sound interventions in a space within the cloisters of the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu by artist Emmanuel Lagarrigue. In addition, the artist Àlex Arteaga will develop a series of interventions in the spaces of the Pabellón Mies van der Rohe and the Fundació Tàpies in a project curated by Lluís Nacenta.

For more information, please consult www.loop-barcelona.com

LOOP Fair and LOOP Studies

4 - 6 June. Hotel Catalonia Ramblas (C/ Pelayo, 28. Barcelona)

LOOP Festival

28 May - 6 June. Various locations within the city.

Photo Credit: © Carlos Collado