The atomic age and the cult of beauty: the main themes of the CCCB in 2026

BarcelonaOne week after inaugurating what will be one of the exhibitions of the year, Rodoreda, a forestThe Centre for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB) has presented its main lines for 2026. And just as the exhibition about the writer is full of contrasts and opposing poles that coexist, so too will the upcoming program, marked by two major exhibitions: The atomic age and The cult of beauty"The lights and shadows of our present—this is the dialectic that will mark the 2026 program," explains CCCB Director Judit Carrera. The Center will have a budget of 16.8 million euros. In 2025, it received 470,000 visitors, a figure close to that of 2024. Next year, there will be three artists in residence linked to war, displacement, and memory: the Russian writer Maria Stepanova, exiled in Berlin; the Palestinian journalist Mariam Barghouti; and Castro. From the world of literature, authors such as Michele Nieva, Amitav Ghosh, Sara Torres, Jeanette Winterson, and Richard Ford will visit the CCCB.

Beauty and weapons

The exploration ofThe cult of beauty, an exhibition co-produced with the Wellcome Collection in London that will occupy the CCCB from May to November, arrives at a time when "words like Ozempic, cosmeticrexia and even artificial intelligence "They are influencing the canon," explains Jordi Costa, head of exhibitions at the CCCB. The exhibition delves into the concept of the ideal and all its philosophical, cultural, artistic, and scientific implications.

The second major exhibition will arrive at the end of the year. The atomic ageA co-production with the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the exhibition will explore events from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 80 years ago, through the nuclear disasters of Chernobyl and Fukushima, to the present day, where the nuclear arms race continues and pro-armament rhetoric resurfaces. "One of the greatest triumphs of science and human intelligence seems to be providing the means for our self-destruction as a species," Costa notes. The exhibition includes works by Kandinsky, Duchamp, Dalí, and Yoko Ono, but will also feature scientific discourse, historical memory, and social and ecological resistance.

Regarding the program of debates, the CCCB has announced three main themes. Firstly, there will be discussions on the city and architecture, taking advantage of Barcelona's status as World Capital of Architecture, and specifically about the cities of the Global Southwhere 70% of humanity lives and which serve as a laboratory for what happens in large cities. They have invited specialists such as Gautam Bahn, Teresa Caldeira, Emanuele Coccia, and Kiran Desai. Diversity and Afro-descendant heritage will also be discussed. Black UrbanitiesAnd there will be a focus on contemporary Morocco. A tribute will be paid to Josep Lluís Sert, the most influential Catalan architect after Gaudí, in conjunction with Harvard University, where he served as dean after his exile during the Spanish Civil War. The second discussion will focus on tourism, which represents 14% of Barcelona's GDP but also has a clear negative impact. Thirdly, the discussion will address the difficulty of accessing citizenship and its impact on democratic life, particularly through the work of philosopher Lea Ypi and other local experts.

The CCCB seeks to expand the ways in which people can engage with its programming, beyond visiting exhibitions and listening to leading thinkers. In particular, there will be an intensification of the critical thinking program for teenagers. Fifteen specialists will be invited to engage in dialogue with young people; in addition, the Bivac project, in which ten young people produce a festival of thought, will be repeated, and an international exhibition portraying young people will be added, entitled We are 17 years oldThe CCCB is home to nine festivals, with which it has strengthened its connection in recent years. These festivals are primarily focused on film, such as D'A, Alternativa, Docs, and the Brain Film Festival. For now, alliances and collaborations with other projects will depend on the themes addressed in the programming.

2025 Review

"It's been a very good year," said Judit Carrera, director of the CCCB, referring to the exhibitions on the Amazon (91,000 visitors), the exhibition on the thought of Georges Didi-Hubermann (50,000), and the one on Chris Ware (77,200 visitors), in addition to Kosmopolis, which is presented in three languages. Each year, the center hosts 350 leading thinkers, including international names like Art Spiegelman, Teju Cole, Anne Carson, Didier Queloz, and JM Koetzee, with 70% being local guests. In addition to the 470,000 visitors, they estimate an online audience of 763,000. 79% of visitors are from Barcelona and the metropolitan area, 54% are women, and the average age is 40, a figure that is decreasing due to the increase in young people and teenagers. Half of the visitors are first-timers, and the other half are repeat visitors. Judit Carrera has highlighted the four fundamental ideas that govern the center: an open vision with a polyphony of voices, support for creation, strengthening of international alliances, and a public vocation.