Cities

Barcelona has a long tradition of re-envisaging itself as a city. Its status as a capital means it has conceived cities as physical structures (in terms of architecture) but also, and essentially, as the primordial political and cultural entities. And in the meantime, the world is becoming ever more urban.

Far from idealising the urban phenomenon, the CCCB must problematicize it and analyse the tensions generated from being both a place of conflict and of civilisation. By talking about cities, we can also reflect on the way we humans organise our physical space and tackle the climate emergency as one of the most serious and urgent crises of our time. By reclaiming our cities, we can approach cultural issues from the perspective of the major global challenges. Talking about cities offers a first step to acknowledging the conflicts affecting contemporary society, so we can envisage ways to live together and nourish our creative force to combat the global shift towards authoritarianism.