A call to action

Manifesta 15, the European Nomadic Biennial, takes place in the metropolitan region of Barcelona from September 8th to November 24th, 2024. This year’s edition focuses on the themes of Balancing Conflicts, Cure and Care, and Imagining Futures, addressing social, cultural, and environmental challenges. Through artistic interventions, Manifesta aims to decentralize Barcelona’s cultural infrastructure, creating connections between its 12 metropolitan cities and their diverse communities.

The biennial’s goal is to catalyze cultural change, promote ecological awareness, and explore sustainable urban development. Manifesta 15 also focuses on promoting long-term investments in the cultural sector and recognizing art as an economic driver. By engaging local residents, artists, and institutions, the event seeks to establish a model for a more equitable, eco-social future. Artistic interventions will be held at historic venues and previously inaccessible industrial sites, creating new dialogues between art, community, and space.

The program spans 12 cities, including Barcelona, Badalona, El Prat de Llobregat, and Sabadell, and will feature over 90 local and international participants. A key part of the biennial is the Bicicletada, a symbolic bike ride that connects the region’s two rivers, emphasizing the importance of sustainable mobility. At Casa Gomis, part of the Balancing Conflicts cluster, the building’s tension between preservation and expansion is reflected in the works of photographer Carlos Pérez Siquier, who explores Spain’s tourism boom in the 1970s.

At Can Trinxet, Italian-Senegalese artist Binta Diaw presents braided synthetic hair installations created in collaboration with the local African diaspora, highlighting themes of identity and resistance. In the Cure and Care cluster, Buhlebezwe Siwani’s work at St. Michael’s Church delves into the intimate experience of familial care, using Sunlight soap to create sculptures of five generations of women in her family. These works explore healing and resilience through material and memory.

Manifesta 15 offers a diverse and rich program of events, from site-specific performances to community-driven projects. Its focus on decentralization, ecological awareness, and inclusive cultural dialogue makes this edition a transformative cultural experience.