March 14. Art is for everyone but not everyone knows it

By Gabriela Reyes Jusino

Nestled within the El Raval neighborhood of the city, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Barcelona (MACBA) offered us a glimpse into how a brand new director and a treasure trove of an archive could create an exhibition celebrating life, resistance, and perseverance.  

Maria Berros, a Chilean native, is the first non-Spanish director of MACBA. During our time together, she stated that she attributes her success in the role to being open to conversations, fomenting connections within the workplace but most importantly, being in the know of the needs of the community.; “Songs for Many Movements: Scenes of Collective Creation” is exactly that. This multi-media exhibition consisted of small “islands” that showed how media has been used as a tool to further resistance movements and to address political conflict. A huge highlight for me was how adaptable the exhibition was to current events, Maria stated that in under 2 weeks, they managed to get pieces from the museums’ archives that hadn’t been on display for a while and from known artists in her network to create an island to facilitate conversations about war post-October 7th. 

After Maria and our group parted ways, we met with Loli, our tour guide for the day, and went around the rest of the exhibitions within. It was immediately very clear that she was passionate about the art and I have never met a guide who could articulate how pieces work and their meaning the way she did. In our third room, we came across a plastic case with letters that spelled out “SCULPTURE” and we were asked what was the mysterious clear liquid inside the case. Plastic? Resin? Glass? Water, simply water. Immediately, everyone who was surrounding the case crouched down to get a better look inside. As Loli began to explain to us the artists’ intention of giving the letter the ‘freedom’ to move within a confined space, I felt like a small child peering into a fish tank with wonder. 

I’m not a big fan of contemporary art, but this institution may have changed things. Maria and Loli l were some of the most passionate women I have encountered visiting Barcelona. When I think of where I want to go in terms of my career, I’m glad I can add two more amazing women to my list of inspirations.