Six former Culture Ministers call for the creation of the Ateneo de la Canción (Athenaeum of Song) in Barcelona

BarcelonaSix former Ministers of Culture of the Generalitat (Catalan Government) have signed a letter calling for the creation of the Ateneo de la Cançó (Athenaeum of Song) in Barcelona. The signatories are Ferran Mascarell, Juan Manuel Tresserras, Santi Vila, Luis Puig, Laura Borràs, and Àngels Ponsa. They all support a proposal by Pere Camps, the founder of the Barnasants festival, who has long urged institutions to work towards establishing "a leading institution dedicated to preserving, studying, developing, and promoting singer-songwriter music."

Published in the summer of 2020 a manifesto that had the support of musicians like Pau Alabajos, Maria del Mar Bonet, Silvia Comes, Paco Ibáñez, Luis Llach, Martirio, Roger Mas, Quico Pi de la Sierra, Silvio Rodríguez, and Joan Manuel Serrat. "It would be an act of cultural justice," Paco Ibáñez said at the time.

The Ateneu de la Cançó project is modeled after other "public facilities under civic management" such as the Sala Beckett, the Centro Artesano Tradicionàrius, and the Ateneu Popular 9 Barris. The proposal envisions the transfer of a public facility of approximately 1,800 m² and an estimated annual budget of €1.21 million, with 64% public funding. To carry it out, "institutional commitment is essential, especially from the Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat of Catalonia, as well as the formalization of a long-term agreement that guarantees the project's stability." The space, according to Pere Camps, could be located in Sants, the neighborhood where Barnasants was born more than thirty years ago.

The open letter signed by the former Ministers of Culture underscores "the historical and cultural value of singer-songwriter music, from the troubadour tradition to the key role of the Nova Cançó movement during the Franco regime as a tool of cultural and political resistance," highlighting its continued relevance as a "vehicle for artistic expression" and dissemination. It also laments the lack of a permanent space in Barcelona "dedicated to this heritage" and advocates for the creation of the Ateneu de la Canció (Athenaeum of Song) as a "key infrastructure" for preserving musical memory, promoting contemporary creation in the Catalan language, supporting emerging talent, and strengthening the international reach of Catalan culture.

"The Ateneo de la Canció (Athenaeum of Song) should be the heart of the community, the main hub for singer-songwriters from across the Catalan Countries, a space that can combine the study and preservation of the memory of Catalan song with contemporary artistic creation and a regular, stable program," explains Pere Camps. "It is an absolute national anomaly that the city of Barcelona, ​​as the capital of the Catalan Countries, does not have a center for the study, creation, and exhibition of singer-songwriter music, probably the most genuine artistic genre in our country," says the current director of Barnasants, Marçal Girbau.