One year of the Born Centre Cultural

The Born Centre Cultural opened its doors in September 2013 with the principal objective of establishing itself, by means of exhibitions, conferences and activities relating to cultural dissemination and artistic expression, as a meeting place for cultural heritage, contemporary culture and local history. In essence, a public space that is nourished by the past in order to project itself towards the future and that, over the course of one year, has received more than 2 million visitors for more than 300 programmed activities.

The initial stage coincided with the 1714 tercentenary commemorations and, as such, a significant part of the programmed activities have revolved around this central theme. In fact, the centre opened with two major exhibitions, the permanent Barcelona 1700. From stones to people and the temporary Siege of 1714. Also worth mentioning are the large number of guided tours that have been carried out of the archaeological excavation that forms part of the centre.

Both the centre’s first year’s results and the programme of cultural activities for 2015 were presented in a press conference featuring Jaume Ciurana, the Deputy Mayor for Culture, Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation in the Barcelona City Council, and Quim Torra, the director of the centre. Among other aspects, Ciurana highlighted the full incorporation of the space into both the collective imagination of the city and the view of Catalonia as a major cultural centre with significant impact on its environment. With regard to 2015, the centre has opted for reinforcement of its activities programme, increasing its historical content and creating a new exhibition space, Espai 1714, a permanent space dedicated to the momentous events of the early 18th century.

In this manner, Torra has complied with the three principal present and future core concepts of the centre: a centre for cultural heritage and collective memory, a programme of cultural activities and an urban space. With regard to the first of these, the temporary exhibition relating to the siege of 1714 will be extended up to the end of 2015 as a result of the demand and interest shown by groups and schools. Meanwhile, work on the Espai 1714 space will continue in parallel.

Likewise, the historical content and the archaeological site will also be extended. The excavation has proved to be one of the stars of the centre, with 30,019 visits in the first year, and a mobile device app featuring an interactive experience in augmented reality will be presented during 2015, during which time a new volume, the 11th in the series Barcelona 1700, on this occasion dedicated to women, will be published and two new volumes will be launched, one dedicated to the market, the other to children’s stories. In terms of monthly exhibitions in the Espai Dalmau, these will include Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 70 years on, Architecture and urbanism in the 18th century, Sporting values, Prohibited Book Week, The Catalan Revolt, or Reapers’ War, and Majorca 1715, the end of the War of Succession.

Highlights from the new activities programme include series of conferences such as The Catalan Story of the Fight for Freedom, coordinated by Enric Vila, and the 2nd edition of DO Europe, coordinated by Mònica Terribas, the concert series Born de Cançons, organised by Enderrock, Taller de Músics and Mas y Mas, and the children’s programme, which will include puppet shows, workshops and visits. The centre will also host dozens of events organised by associations and entities, with preference given to local groups.