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The 10th edition of Screen and Loop turns Barcelona into the capital of video art

CNA / Laura Rodas

From May 17th to June 2nd video art invades over 150 spaces in Barcelona during the 10th edition of the Loop Fair and the Screen Festival. The first showcases the latest ideas in International video art. The second, Screen, offers close contact with audiovisual creative practices including the brightest ideas and latest developments, all in very different places. Moreover, this year’s new addition is the first ever Screen Forum Pro, an International Symposium under the slogan: “What about production?” The annual video art festival attracts numerous professionals from the world of art, including representatives of leading museums, artists and galleries worldwide, as well as an audience eager to discover the latest trends in video art.

The Boss rocked the house in Barcelona

Irene García Pérez

Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street band offered two three and a quarter hour concerts in Barcelona. In the two consecutive shows, on May 17th and 18th, the American musician changed almost half of the repertoire. Whereas the first performance started with a clear leitmotiv, the economic crisis and its consequences for the working class and middle classes, the second one was more of a dedication to his greatest fans. As he did in other years, The Boss talked in Catalan on some occasions during the concerts.

Saint Etienne to substitute Björk at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival

CNA

The Icelandic singer had cancelled her Saturday concert due to health reasons. Björk headlined Saturday’s programme, and the organisation offered the return of the tickets for that day to those requesting it. This year’s Primavera Sound Festival has showcases starting on Monday May 28th and outdoor concerts starting on Wednesday at the Arc de Triomf venue. However, the core festival, being held at the Forum, kicks off on Thursday May 31st and runs until Saturday June 2nd.

The 'Girona, Temps de Flors' exhibition includes the first ‘a capella’ music festival in Catalonia

CNA / Gemma Nieto

The Girona A Capella Festival, held this year for the first time, wants to become “a reference in Southern Europe”. The new music festival will be held from May 12th to May 19th. The largest part of the program will take place during the first weekend of the floral exhibition, when it will combine performances in enclosed theaters and outdoors making the Mercat del Lleó a performance space.

Catalan music is the guest of honour at Brighton’s ‘The Great Escape’ festival

CNA / Laura Pous

The British pop festival ‘The Great Escape’ is probably Europe’s leading event for showcasing new music bands and artists. Catalonia and the Balearic Islands have a special place in this year’s edition, with the unique category ‘Catalan Sounds’. Bands such as Mujeres, Me and The Bees, Amics del Bosc, or Seward will display their music in front of music critics, lovers and concert promoters. “It is a unique opportunity to promote Catalan music bands” one of the people behind this initiative told ACN.

China, guest of honour at the 30th International Comic Fair in Barcelona

CNA / Laura Rodas

The People's Republic of China is this year’s special guest at the 30th edition of the Barcelona International Comic Fair, which runs from May 3rd to 6th at the Fira de Barcelona. An exhibition will showcase the most important works in the history of Chinese comics. Furthermore, this edition is turning the spotlight on robots, dedicating its main exhibition both to entertaining and exploring the relationship between robots and comics, cinema and literature.

The legend of Sant Jordi alive and kicking

CNA / Laura Fabregat

There is a special feel to the streets of Catalonia on 23rd April as for one day locals set aside their daily concerns to celebrate a unique tradition: Sant Jordi’s Day. Every 23rd April is awash with the colour of roses and the gleaming jackets of books hot off the presses. Tradition dictates that today is the day men give their loved ones a rose and in return women buy men a book. The results are spectacular as around 7 million roses and 1.7 million books are sold in the space of a single day.

Inside the Catalan filmfactory, the ESCAC

Anna Pacheco

EVA has been one of the last hits of Spanish cinema. The success achieved by the science fiction picture has earned Catalan director Kike Maïllo five Gaudí Catalan cinema Awards, 3 Goya at the Spanish Film Awards and recognition at the prestigious Sitges and Venice film festivals. The success of EVA is not solely down to its director, but also to the Cinema and Audiovisual School of Catalonia (ESCAC), one of the most important film academies in the world.

Read the latest updates and breaking news on culture and cultural topics from Barcelona and Catalonia. Keep up to date with the city’s museums dedicated to some of the biggest artists in the world such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Antoni Tàpies, as well as other institutions such as the National Art Museum (MNAC), the Contemporary Art Museum of Barcelona (MACBA), and exhibition spaces like the Contemporary Culture Center of Barcelona (CCCB), CiaxaForum, and CosmoCaixa.