'We are seventeen': New CCCB exhibition challenges assumptions on teenagers

A new exhibition at the Barcelona Contemporary Cultural Centre (CCCB) brings together the voices of more than 300 teenagers from Catalonia, Lithuania, and Romania, resulting in a collective portrait of youth through photography, film, and writing.

'Tenim disset anys. Un retrat col·lectiu'  – in English 'We Are Seventeen. A Collective Portrait' – presents works created by young people reflecting on their lives, fears, and aspirations at the age of seventeen. 

Curated by the cultural association 'A Bao A Qu', the exhibition invites visitors to rethink common adult assumptions about teenagers and explore how young people see themselves and the world around them.

"Society often suggests that there is only one way of being young. Through art and creation, young people can discover themselves in many different ways," says curator Núria Aidelman.

Collective portrait of youth

More than 300 students participated in the project, creating photographs, short films, texts, and sound pieces that express their personal experiences and concerns. 

The works were produced as part of a collaborative creative process in which the teenagers worked alongside photographers, filmmakers, artists, and playwrights.

Several Catalan secondary schools contributed to the European project, including institutes in Barcelona, Terrassa, and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, as well as groups of students from Lithuania and Romania.

During two years, the participants shared everyday moments, conversations with friends, and reflections on the uncertainties of the future. 

"Maybe the thing we all share at 17 is that we don't know what to do next year. We don't know what to study or what we are in society," said Àxel, a student from Bellvitge Institute who participated in the project.

One section of the exhibition invites visitors to pause and read fragments of the teenagers' reflections about moments that have shaped their lives at seventeen. 

"Seventeen is a key moment in life. So many things happen at once: first experiences, big expectations, but also fears and doubts," Aidelman explained.

Short texts and questions written in Catalan appear throughout the space, such as "Qui som quan ens trobem?" ("Who are we when we meet?") or "Qui soc quan callo, crido, dubto, ric? Qui soc quan em mires?" ("Who am I when I stay silent, shout, doubt, laugh? Who am I when you look at me?") 

The exhibition also reflects on everyday experiences: listening to music, dancing, or looking out over the city, offering visitors a quiet moment to connect with the voices and emotions of the participants.

The result is a portrayal of an important life stage. "The whole project was very intimate. Everyone working on it put a little bit of their life into it, so in a way, the exhibition has a little bit of our souls in it," said Àxel.

Inspired by a 1955 photo book

The project takes inspiration from the 1955 photobook 'Wij Zijn 17' ('We Are 17') by Dutch photographer and filmmaker Johan van der Keuken. 

The book featured portraits of the artist's friends taken when he was just 17.

Those thirty photographs caused controversy when they were first published. At the time, critics were shocked by the serious and introspective way the teenagers were portrayed, which challenged conventional ideas of youth.

Seventy years later, the CCCB exhibition revisits self-representation, allowing today's teenagers to speak in their own voice and continue the conversation started decades ago.

"When we realized the project would be shown here, it was impressive. The CCCB is one of the most important museums in Catalonia." Àxel said.

The portraits and stories may also spark a quiet sense of nostalgia, looking back to the intensity and uncertainty of that age, and perhaps even the desire to return to that time of life.

Aidelman hopes visitors will feel personally addressed, "that they will feel these young people are looking at them. That they connect with them, discover them, listen to them, and realize they have many things to say, think about, and create."

The exhibition opened on March 6 and runs until May 17, 2026, at the CCCB, in the Raval neighborhood.